CALLS FOR CALM
giving further details.
Indonesia’s elite anti-terrorism unit also raided the home of a suspected suicide bomber yesterday, with police finding books of Islamic teachings and bayonets in a raid on the Bandung city home of a 30-year-old seller of herbal medicines who was suspected of carrying out Wednesday’s attack.
They also took a DNA sample from the mother of a second suspect, another 30-year-old Bandung man.
Investigators at the blast site found a receipt for a pressure cooker bought on Monday in the capital of the West Java province.
The bombs used in Wednesday’s attacks were made from pressure cookers, similar to a device used in an attack by a JAD militant in Bandung in February.
“We wanted to look for instructions at that location, or evidence... linked to the Kampung Melayu incident,” said National Police spokesman Martinus Sitompul.
The bus station bombing was the deadliest attack in Indonesia since January 2016, when a suicide blast and gun assault claimed by IS in downtown Jakarta left four attackers and four civilians dead.
Police said the first bomb in the latest attack was detonated at 9pm in an area where police officers were on duty. Five minutes later the second bomber struck about 10 metres away.
Local media said the event that the officers were preparing to guard was a torch parade traditionally held before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins this weekend.
In a televised address yesterday, Widodo said he had ordered a thorough probe and was “urging all citizens across the nation to stay calm and remain united”.
“I convey my deepest condolences to the victims and their families — especially the police officers who passed away while performing their duty,” he added.
The main investigation was handed over early yesterday to the police’s elite anti-terror squad Densus 88, which has played a leading role in tracking down and killing some of Indonesia's most wanted militants.
Police believe they were specifically targeted in the bombing as they prepared to provide security for a parade near the Kampung Melayu terminal, which is an area frequented by locals but not foreigners.
Security forces have been the main target in recent years of Indonesian militants, who have largely turned their attention away from Westerners.
Asked whether there was a link between IS and the group behind the attack, national police spokesman Awi Setyono responded “yes there is”, without giving further details.
Suspicion falls on local network Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which supports IS and has been blamed for recent, mostly lowimpact, attacks.
The Kampung Melayu terminal is a local hub served by minibuses and buses. Agencies