In a dramatic security operation in Sleman, Yogyakarta, the National Police’s counterterrorism squad Densus 88 shot dead three alleged terrorists over the weekend.

Densus 88 personnel resorted to deadly force following a standoff that included alleged terrorists hijacking a vehicle and taking two civilians hostage.

Two members of Densus 88 suffered minor injuries from sharp objects used by the suspected terrorists, while one member of the suspected terrorist group got away. Police were still in pursuit of the suspect as of Sunday evening.

“Today we [attempted to arrest] three [alleged terrorists], and they are all dead. They were resisting arrest, so we took action that we deemed proportional,” Yogyakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Yulianto told a press briefing on Saturday.

The bodies of the terror suspects were kept at the Yogyakarta police hospital.

So far, the Yogyakarta Police have yet to disclose the identities of the suspected terrorists or their affiliations.

Densus 88 launched the security operation at 5 p.m. to go after four alleged terrorists, who tried to escape on two motorcycles.

Densus 88 personnel managed to shoot two of the suspects in front of the Ngaglik district office in Sleman, while the two others continued their escape.

One of the two suspects then hijacked a truck, injured the driver’s assistant and forced the truck driver to help him escape.

The hijacked truck stopped after it hit a resident’s garage in the Gondangan area in the northern part of Yogyakarta.

The suspected terrorist then took a local, identified as Sulistiyani, as a hostage.

The alleged terrorist took cover in Sulistyani’s kitchen, before being surrounded by Densus 88 personnel, who fired shots that apparently led to the suspect’s death.

Yogyakarta Police and Densus 88 had launched the pursuit on the alleged terrorists following the arrest of five suspected terrorists in Mlati in Sleman regency, and Mrisi and Pleret in Bantul regency.

The raid on Saturday took place only one day before the inauguration of the Sultan Agung Natural Studio by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at Gemplong Moyudan, in Sleman.

President Jokowi was scheduled to visit the studio on Sunday afternoon.

After being informed of the raid, President Jokowi said he would still make the journey to Yogyakarta.

“I will still go to Yogyakarta,” Jokowi said on Saturday, as quoted by Antara.

Jokowi said the government had taken many measures to tackle terrorism in the country, both through a soft and a hard approach, but terrorist attacks continued to happen.

“That’s why I call on all citizens to work together with the security personnel to solve this problem,” he said.

The Saturday raid took place five months after police in Sleman apprehended Suliyono, 23, who had launched an attack on churchgoers at St. Lidwina church using a 1-meter-long sword.

Four people were injured in the attack, including pastor Karl Edmund Prier, who was leading the choir. Statues inside the church were also destroyed.

Police have not revealed Suliyono’s background, nor whether he was a lone wolf attacker or affiliated with a terrorist group.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said Suliyono had in the past tried to travel to Syria to join jihadists fighting against the Syrian government but had failed in his attempt.

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