Security Minister Wiranto Stabbed by Islamic State Sympathizer
Jakarta. Chief Security Minister Wiranto received a stab wound to his abdomen after he was attacked by two unidentified individuals, one of them an Islamic State sympathizer, in Pandeglang, a district in Banten, on Thursday when he was on an official visit to the area, police said.
A video showed the attackers moving past security officers and officials who were greeting Wiranto as he came out of his car.
The attackers stabbed Wiranto in the stomach and a local police officer in the back.
"During a visit to Pandeglang, Minister Wiranto was attacked. The subdistrict police chief and the minister were wounded," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo told Kompas TV.
A man and a woman were arrested at the site of the attack and they are now being questioned by the Banten Police.
"The man has been influenced by the radical ideology of IS [Islamic State]," Dedi said.
Wiranto has been flown to the Army hospital in Central Jakarta by helicopter.
Dedi said police anti-terror unit Detachment 88 will be investigating the attack. The motivation behind the attack is still unknown.
National Police Chief Tito Karnavian said earlier this year that several top officials including Wiranto were targeted in a foiled assassination plot.
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