Solo Suicide Bomber Fails to Hit His Target: Nat’l Police
Jakarta. The police said the suicide bomber killed in Solo this morning had wanted to attack police officers conducting a morning briefing for the Ramadaniya Operation at the Solo Police headquarters, but was intercepted before he forced his way into the building.
Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto, a spokesman for the National Police headquarters, said the police have obtained data from a number of sources in anticipation of further terror attacks.
“The suicide bomber wanted to achieve maximum damage, including major casualties,” Agus said in Jakarta on Tuesday (05/07).
Agus said a police officer was injured after a man detonated a low-explosive bomb strapped to his own body after he was stopped from entering the police station at 7.30 a.m. The attacker was killed instantly.
“Thanks to the readiness of our colleagues on duty in the precinct, and thanks to Allah’s help, the attack was foiled,” Agus said.
According to Agus, the police’s forensic laboratory is still examining the low-explosive bomb. "The DVI [Disaster Victim Identification], forensic lab and Densus [the police's anti-terror squad] are still investigating.”
Previously, Agus continued, National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti had already mentioned possible threats of terrorist attacks in Indonesia.
“They were targeting places of foreign or western interest. But then they modified their targets to include police personnel,” Agus said.
The police are beefing up security to counter similar attacks, without cutting other services. “This includes the Ramadaniya Operation ahead of Idul Fitri,” Agus said.
Reports circulating among security personnel said the alleged suicide bomber was 31-year-old Nur Rohman from Pasar Kliwon in Solo.
Nur was a member of Laskar Hizbah, a radical group that has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State. Nur's group is connected to another terror group in Bekasi, West Java, which the police had targeted last year.
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