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Suspected Surabaya terrorists 'inspired by IS'
Three suspected terrorists arrested in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday were influenced by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group’s teachings, according to National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar.
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Suspected – National Police spokesperson Insp.Gen.Boy Rafli Amar (left) talks about the arrests of three alleged terrorists in Surabaya, East Java, earlier this week. (Kompas.com/Ambaranie Nadia K.M)
Three suspected terrorists arrested in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday were influenced by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group’s teachings, according to National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar.
According to their confessions, Boy said on Thursday, the three suspects had accessed IS teachings through social media and video footage.
“The IS was among groups they referred to as their guidelines. They were inspired by the ideologies and teachings IS spread through social media,” Boy said as quoted by kompas.com at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday.
Videos containing the speeches of IS spokesperson Abu Muhammad Al-‘Adnani have often circulated online, especially on video-hosting site YouTube.
“They are guided by what has been conveyed by the IS figure [Al-‘Adnani],” said Boy.
The three suspects, identified only by their initials PHP, BRN and FN, were arrested in three separate locations.
Based on investigation results, Boy said, the three terrorists were planning to attack a boarding house.
During the arrests, the police’s counterterrorism squad, Densus 88, confiscated evidence, comprising three active high-explosive bombs, two long-barreled rifles, a pistol, chemical liquid, a bayonet and cell phones.
The police suspect that several other members of the terrorist network remain at large, and are actively investigating.
Earlier, police revealed that Priyo Hadi Purnomo, 35, a suspected terrorist arrested by Densus 88 in Surabaya on Wednesday, had previously been convicted of drug crimes; Priyo is also said to have been implicated in an embezzlement case when he worked as a product salesman.
“He was once involved in a drug case and sentenced to nine years and another year and a half for a fund embezzlement case at a company where he worked,” Mulyorejo Police chief Comr. Bagus Dwi R. said on Wednesday evening.
He added that Priyo had served his sentence at Medaeng Prison in Sidoarjo, East Java. After he was released, he lived in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
According to information from his family, Priyo had stayed at his parents’ house in Gading sub-district, Tambaksari, Surabaya, for just several days before he was arrested by Densus 88.
Priyo’s older sister, Anik Puji Rahayu ,39, said that before the arrest, her mother had expressed concern about Priyo inviting his friends to stay at their home, suspicious that he was again involving himself in drug crime.
“That’s why my mother once prohibited my younger brother from bringing any of his friends to our home,” she said.
Two other terrorist suspects, FN and BRN, were arrested on Jl. Lebak Agung and Jl.Kalianak, respectively. (ebf)
