Solo Suicide Bomber Was a Member of Hisbah Terror Group: Police Source
Jakarta. The man who allegedly blew himself up in an apparent suicide attack on the police headquarters in Solo, Central Java, on Tuesday morning (05/07) has been identified as 30-year-old Nur Rohman, a member of the Hisbah terror network. The group was implicated in planned attacks on several police stations and places of worship in the city last year and also in 2011, an unidentified police source said.
An officer was injured when the alleged terrorist, who was a resident of Pasar Kliwon subdistrict in Solo, detonated a low-explosive device strapped to his body after he was stopped from entering the police station at 7.30 a.m. on Tuesday. The bomb reportedly contained metal balls.
According the police source, the attacker had been named a fugitive after the arrests of Nur Hamzah and Andika late last year on charges that they provided explosives to one Abu Muzab, who was arrested by the National Police's antiterrorism unit Densus 88 in Bekasi, West Java, on Dec. 23, 2015.
"Nur Rohman was a member of the terror group led by Ibadurahman, alias Ali Robani, alias Ibad. So Nur Rohman was a member of the Hisbah terror cell in Solo," the source said at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta.
Several members of the Hisbah terror group, including Yus Karman and Giyanto, alias Gento, were arrested in August last year. The suicide bomber is reportedly the only member of the group who had managed to evade arrest.
The group allegedly planned several attacks on Buddhist temples in Kepunton, Solo, in revenge against the treatment of the Rohingya in Myanmar. They also made preparations to bomb a church, a police post in Pasar Kliwon and some other police offices in Solo.
Police have started to perform an autopsy on the alleged suicide bomber's body to confirm his identity.
Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) meanwhile said the terror attack was proof that radical movements have not been eradicated in the country, despite a series of raids and terrorist hunts in recent months.
"The police did not expect the attack to occur one day before the Idul Fitri celebration. But it is hard to ignore [the threat] and say the situation will be fine after a series of arrests in Solo some time ago," IPW chairman Neta S. Pane said.
He added that the terror group was maintaining its momentum by launching the attack one day before Idul Fitri.
"This terror group is sending a message to show that it exists and to create the appearance that it is still strong. But the truth is that the terror groups nowadays only consist of a few scattered members," Neta said.
Despite the bomb attack, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo – who is a former Solo mayor – will not cancel his visit to the city.
"There will be no change of schedule, I will be going there," Jokowi said in Padang, West Sumatra, on Tuesday.
The incident has seen security officials across the country stepping up measures to prevent more attacks.
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