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Batam terror group chose nearest island to strike Singapore: Police
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Members of Densus 88, the National Police's anti-terror squad, raid a house of one of the alleged terrorists in Cluster Sakura Botania housing in Batam, Riau Islands, on Aug. 5. Densus 88 arrested six people allegedly part of Khatibah Rahmat Dewa, the Islamic State-linked terror cell suspected to have plotted an attack on Singapore. (Antara/M. N. Kanwa)
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adical group Katibah Gonggong Rebus (KGR) allegedly plotted to strike Singapore with a rocket from an island in Batam, Riau Islands that was closest in distance to the city-state, a top police official said on Monday.
From the investigation, the National Police's anti-terror squad, Densus 88, found out that the group's plan to strike Singapore had reached the stage of field measurements, Riau Islands Police chief Brig. Gen. Sambudi Gusdian said.
"We have received a very clear plot on the rocket launch to the Marina Bay Sands building. The group had made elevation point measurements, conducted intensive training and they planned to execute the plan from Batam's outermost island, which is the closest in range to Singapore," he told The Jakarta Post, refusing to disclose the location.
Sambudi also declined to give further details on the rocket used in the plot.
"Don't ask me if we found the rocket or not. If the rocket was found and it was launched to your house, would you want it?" he said.
Densus 88 personnel arrested the five KGR suspects, including its leader Gigih Rahmat Dewa, in crackdowns in Batam in early August. If charged under the Terrorism Law, the five men could face 20 years imprisonment, Sambudi said.
The anti-terror squad also arrested another member of the group, Leonardo Hutajulu, on Saturday. The group, reportedly coordinated by Indonesian national Bahrun Naim in Syria, had been involved in hiding and providing accommodation for Uighur terror suspects in Indonesia as well as allegedly facilitating Indonesians wanting to join the war in Syria. (rin)
