BREAKING NEWS

Indonesia arrests 9 suspected militants

By REUTERS

MARCH 11, 2017 09:21

JAKARTA - Indonesian police arrested nine suspected militants on the island of Sulawesi, a police spokesman said on Saturday, in an operation that media reported had targeted a group with affiliations to Islamic State.

With investigations continuing, police spokesman Martinus Sitompul declined to give further details, but media reported police had also seized bomb-making materials meant for use in attacks on police and official buildings.

The suspects were all members of Mujahidin Indonesia Timur, a group that had been controlled until last year by one of the first Indonesian militants to pledge loyalty to Islamic State.

Santoso had been the country's most-wanted men before he was killed in a gun battle with police and military forces last July, and security officials have been expecting reprisal attacks.

Some members of his group were believed to be still hiding in Sulawesi's dense jungles.

Security experts say that Indonesia, an officially secular state with the world's largest Muslim population, faces a growing threat from supporters of Islamic State.

Last month, police killed a militant after he detonated a small bomb in the city of Bandung. Authorities said they were investigating whether he had links to a radical network sympathetic to Islamic State.

Iranian-German Sharmahd died before his execution, Iran judiciary says

By REUTERS

11/05/2024 12:33 PM

Iranian female student who stripped in public is 'troubled'

By REUTERS

11/05/2024 12:31 PM

Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

By REUTERS

11/05/2024 12:22 PM

Over 60 PFLP members arrested in extensive IDF, Shin Bet operation

By AVI ASHKENAZI

11/05/2024 11:34 AM