A man blew himself up at Medan Police headquarters in Medan, North Sumatra, injuring at least six people, in a second suicide blast in the province this year.

North Sumatra Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Tatan Dirsan Atmaja identified the suspected suicide bomber as Medan resident Rabbial Muslim Nasution, alias Dedek.

It is thought that the 24-year-old carried out the attack alone, but the police are investigating whether he had any links to Islamic State-linked homegrown terror group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which has been behind a number of terror attacks in the past.

“[Rabbial] had resigned from his job as an online-delivery motorcycle driver,” Tatan said on Wednesday. “We still don’t know about his affiliation with other [terrorist] groups.”

The suicide bombing occurred at about 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday, after morning roll call at the police headquarters. Six people, including four police officers, one nonpermanent staffer and one civilian, sustained injuries in the attack.

North Sumatra Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Mardiaz Kusin said Rabbial had been stopped and checked by police officers on duty at the gate before he entered the compound. However, he exited straightaway and returned some time after.

Mardiaz said Rabbial blended in with members of the public who were applying for police certificates of good conduct near the police’s operational office. “That’s when he blew himself up,” he said.

The police’s Indonesian automatic fingerprint identification system (Inafis) unit identified Rabbial as the suicide bomber through fingerprint analysis.

State-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) II is immediately tightening security in its 19 airports following the bombing.

“We will work to ensure that all airports under Angkasa Pura II management are safe from terrorist attacks and can continue operating normally to serve passengers and accommodate flights from all airlines,” said AP II president director Muhammad Awaluddin.

Increased random checks are being carried out at two security checkpoints, one prior to passenger check-in and the other before entering the boarding lounge. Security measures have been augmented with a walking metal detector and an X-ray area.

The incident was the second incident involving a suicide bomber in the province this year, which in previous years experienced church bombings.

In March, a woman blew up herself and her child at their house in Sibolga, North Sumatra. The woman was identified as the wife of Husein, aka Abu Hamzah, a suspected JAD member.

The homegrown JAD terror group has been the main organization behind terrorist attacks in the country over the past few years.

Members of the group were also allegedly responsible for the stabbing of former chief security minister Wiranto in October, just days before the inauguration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Wiranto was attacked with a Japanese-style blade during a working visit to Pandeglang, Banten, allegedly by a man identified by police as Abu Rara, who was arrested at the scene along with his wife. At least four other officials in the minister’s entourage were also injured.

All of them were rushed to Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Medan for medical treatment.

Tatan said the police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad and the North Sumatra Police went to Rabbial’s house after the incident. Three of his family members were brought in for questioning.

One of them was Rabbial’s cousin, Maya, who said Rabbial no longer lived with his parents. She said Rabbial had moved into his parents in-law’s house in Medan Marelan district, Medan, after he and his wife married.

Maya’s account was confirmed by the head of the residential area, Poetra, who said, Dedek was a hard worker. He used to be an ojek [motorcycle taxi] driver and food vendor owner who sold grilled meatballs.”

Mardiaz said that before the bomb was detonated, police officer Comr. Abdul Muthalib, who sustained injuries to his face and one hand, had considered Rabbial’s behavior suspicious and had followed him.

Wearing a jacket that identified him as an online ojek driver, Rabbial was spotted entering the area, exiting and then reentering.

An eyewitness, Lila Mayasari, told The Jakarta Post that the explosion was “very strong”.

The resident of Sidorejo district in Medan said she was at the police’s operational office to obtain a certificate of good behavior when she noticed the suspect walk into the yard.

Lila was among dozens of other people who packed the compound with the same purpose as one of the requirements in civil servant job applications.

Presidential spokesman Fadjroel Rachman, on behalf of Jokowi, expressed sympathy for the victims.

“President Jokowi asks the police to immediately take care of the problem because the most important thing at the moment is to protect 267 million Indonesians,” he said.

— Arya Dipa from Bandung, N. Adri from Balikpapan and Rizal Harahap from Pekanbaru contributed to the report.

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