Solo Suicide Bomber Is the Last Member of Abu Musab Group: Police
Solo. The man who blew himself up in an apparent suicide bomb attack on the police headquarters in Solo, Central Java, on Tuesday (05/07) was reportedly on the run following a series of raids on an Islamic State-linked group in Bekasi, West Java, late last year.
The alleged attacker, identified as 31-year-old Nur Rahman, was allegedly part of the Abu Musab terrorist group, also known as Laskar Hizbah or Hisbah, which was coordinated by Bahrun Naim, who is believed to have been the mastermind behind the terrorist attack in downtown Jakarta in January this year that killed eight people.
At least seven members of the group were arrested following the January attack, but Nur reportedly escaped with at least three explosive devices. Officers of the National Police's antiterrorism unit Densus 88 apprehended another four alleged terrorists in a series of raids in Surabaya, East Java, a few months ago.
It was subsequently established that Nur was a resident of Solo's Pasar Kliwon subdistrict, National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said.
"But after that, we could not trace his whereabouts for quite a long time. We lost track of him," Badrodin told reporters in Solo on Tuesday. "We will examine whether there were one, two, or three bombs used in the attack."
Nur is believed to have strapped the explosive device filled with metal balls to his body before reportedly breaking through a security barricade at the police headquarters while riding a motorcycle.
He detonated the device when he was stopped by Chief Brig. Bambang Adi Cahyanto, who is a member of the Solo Police's provost unit. The officer sustained injuries to the face and parts of his body and is currently being treated at the nearby Panti Waluyo Hospital.
However, it seems the alleged terrorist's real target was an officers' gathering held that morning prior to his arrival.
"It is provisionally concluded that they were low-explosives," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said. He added that officers have been searching for at least three other alleged accomplices.
Documents confiscated during the Bekasi raids revealed that the terrorist group was targeting the National Police chief, the Jakarta Police chief, the Central Java Police chief and the Densus 88 chief, among others.
"The Solo Police headquarters have been one of their targets since the beginning," Badrodin said. "But we have been unable to determine the timing of this attack."
Following Tuesday's terror attack, officials have increased security and surveillance in many parts of the country ahead of the Idul Fitri celebrations.
Tags: Keywords: