Third strike on Indonesia
After a spate of suicide bombings, four men wielding samurai swords and claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group attack another police station.
PEKANBARU: Four men who attacked an Indonesian police headquarters with samurai swords were shot dead and one officer also died, authorities said, days after a wave of deadly suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group rocked the country.
The assault in the city of Pekanbaru on Sumatra island – also claimed by IS – saw a group ram their minivan into a gate at the station and then attack officers, police said.
Days earlier, two families who belonged to the same religious study group staged suicide bombings at churches and a police station in Surabaya on Java island, Indonesia’s second biggest city.
The attacks have put Indonesia on edge – and sparked a string of foreign government travel advisories – as the world’s biggest Muslimmajority country starts the holy fasting month of Ramadan today.
Four attackers were shot dead at the scene yesterday and another suspect who fled was later arrested, police said.
One officer was killed by the speeding vehicle and two others were wounded in the incident, they added.
Police said the men belonged to a local extremist group, but not Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which authorities believe was behind the family suicide bombings. Both groups have pledged allegiance to IS, they said.
The bloody violence is putting pressure on lawmakers to pass a stalled security law that would give police more power to take preemptive action against terror suspects.
“I’m outraged and very saddened by these acts carried out by cowards – they have no humanity,” said Pebby Magdalena, who joined a demonstration in Jakarta in support of the bill.
Indonesia – which is set to host the Asian Games in just three months and an IMFWorld Bank meeting in Bali in October – has long struggled with Islamist militancy.
Its worstever attack was the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, including locals and foreign tourists.
Security forces have arrested hundreds of militants during a sustained crackdown since the Bali bombing.
Most attacks in recent years have been limited to lowlevel operations against domestic security forces. — AFP