Terrorist killed, six hurt in Medan police headquarters suicide bombing.

Suspected terrorist found dead at scene in Medan

JAKARTA: At least six people have been injured in an apparent suicide bombing at Medan Police headquarters in Medan, North Sumatra, the National Police announced.

National Police spokesman Brig Gen Dedi Prasetyo said four police officers, one non-permanent staffer and one civilian were injured in the incident.

Dedi added that the bombing attack also damaged four cars, including three police cars.

The apparent suicide bombing occurred at around 8.45am yesterday, after the morning roll call.

Another National Police spokesperson, Insp Gen M. Iqbal, said that the perpetrator reportedly walked through the location of the roll call and then detonated the explosive near the police station’s operations centre in an apparent suicide bombing.

“There are a total of six victims. Thanks be to God, the reports so far say that none of the victims suffered severe injuries, but they are wounded,” Iqbal said.

He added that the perpetrator was reportedly killed in the blast.

Officers from the National Police’s Densus 88 counter-terrorism squad, the North Sumatra Police’s Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (Inafis) unit and forensics units are investigating the crime scene.

Dedi said that the investigation would determine whether the bomb contained low or high explosives, and that Inafis officers would attempt to identify the perpetrator through fingerprint analysis.

The police would also check if the perpetrator had any connections to Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) – a local terror group with links to Islamic State – or if they were acting alone, he said.

An eyewitness of the bombing said that the explosion yesterday morning felt “very strong”.

Lila Mayasari, a resident of Sidorejo district in Medan, said she was at the police operations office to obtain a police certificate of good conduct when she saw the suspected perpetrator walk into the yard.

“After the police’s morning roll call, the perpetrator blew himself up. A number of police officers were injured and everyone was panicking because the explosion was very strong,” Lila said.

The 34-year-old said she immediately fled the scene after the incident. “I screamed, ‘It’s a bomb!’, then I ran,” she said, adding that she had also called for other people to run away.

The suicide bombing occurred at 8.45am yesterday after a morning roll call.

A police officer at the headquarters, Comdr Abdul Muthalib, was one of four police officers injured by the explosion. He suffered wounds on his face and hand.

One non-permanent staff member and one civilian also sustained injuries as result of the blast, according to the police.

Prior to the incident, Abdul Muthalib reportedly tried to chase after the perpetrator when the latter, wearing the uniform of an online motorcycle taxi driver, rushed into the yard after the morning roll call. — The Jakarta Post/ ANN