TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
IS shifts focus to female suicide bombers
Change Size
Rooted out: The National Police’s counterterrorism squad Densus 88 apprehends Rinda, 24, the wife of terrorism suspect Nur Solihin, at their house in Kampung Griyan, Surakarta, on Sunday. Nur Solihin was arrested in Bekasi, West Java, on Saturday for allegedly plotting to detonate a bomb at the State Palace. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
T
he arrest of a woman suspected of planning to detonate a bomb in a suicide attack and of being an Islamic State (IS) group supporter on Sunday has raised concerns over the involvement of women in terror attack plots in the country.
The National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad has arrested several women on allegations of helping male suicide bombers prepare attacks over the past few years, but the arrest of Dian Yulia Novi, who was allegedly prepared for an attack on the State Palace, shows that for the first time, a woman may have been given a key role in a terror attack plot.
Dian’s alleged role also marks a global trend in which terror groups employ females in suicide attacks. At least 200 suicide bombers have blown themselves up, killing thousands of people since 2014 in countries like Pakistan, Nigeria, Iraq and Syria.
Dian allegedly planned to detonate a 3-kilogram triacetone triperoxide (TATP) bomb at the State Palace during the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) handover ceremony on Sunday, but the plot failed to materialize after Densus 88 arrested her along with two other alleged accomplices in Bekasi, West Java, on Saturday.
University of Indonesia (UI) terrorism expert Ridwan Habib has claimed that Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting in Syria alongside IS, instructed Dian to target the State Palace, following attacks involving female bombers in Syria.
The expert said the foiled terror plot could inspire more female suicide bombers in Indonesia to launch similar attacks in the future.
“Until now, security officials have only focused on prospective male attackers and that’s why Bahrun Naim’s group switched to something new by using a woman as a suicide bomber,” Ridwan said on Monday.
Ridwan said the weight of the explosive was light enough for Dian to carry among the crowd gathering for Car Free Day on Sunday, before making her way to the weekly Paspampres ceremony at the State Palace compound, which has been open to the public since August this year.
“If the police did not arrest her the day before, she would have been able to walk around freely carrying the 3-kg bomb in a bag without being watched by our security personnel, who are only accustomed to watching suspicious men in a crowd. This shows that Bahrun is finding new ways to instruct his followers to launch an attack,” Ridwan said.
Another terrorist expert, Sydney Jones, said the TPAT bomb was identical to the explosive used by IS-related groups in Paris last year.
“The explosive is the same type used in Paris,” she said.
Explosive experts say TATP bombs are easy to make, easy to set off and susceptible to accidental detonations.
National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said Bahrun, known as a tech-savvy terrorist, had given Dian, Solihin and Agus an online course on devising a bomb.
Solihin was thought to be the leader of the group and Dian was a member.
“The money to make the bomb was transferred by Bahrun through a bank account. The appointed attacker was [Dian], who is Solihin’s second wife,” Tito said.
National Police spokesman Ins. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said police arrested several other individuals over supporting roles in the foiled plot.
“There are now seven suspects. The latest person to be named a suspect has been identified as F [Fathoni], who works a bomb maker. He was arrested in Ngawi [in Central Java],” Boy said, adding that police arrested another bomb maker identified only by the initial W.
