Jakarta suicide bomb plot foiled

Concern that women are now taking key roles

JAKARTA // Indonesian police said they safely detonated a bomb in a neighbourhood on the outskirts of the capital yesterday after arresting a female would-be suicide bomber and others suspected of planning to attack the presidential palace.

The arrests are likely to cause concern in Indonesia because of the possibility that women with links to militant networks are taking more offensive roles, including plotting and carrying out attacks.

People living within a 300-metre radius of the boarding house where a pressure-cooker bomb was found were moved out during the police operation. Two men and a woman were arrested , said police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar. A fourth suspect, a man, was arrested in the central Java city of Solo, said Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono. The bomb could have caused damage within a wide area, Mr Yuwono said.

“This marks a new chapter of terrorism in Indonesia, where the suicide bombing was to be carried out by a woman,” said Ridwan Habib, a terrorism analyst.

Umar Surya Fana, the police chief of Bekasi, a Jakarta satellite city where the neighbourhood is located, said the militants were closely monitored by the police’s counter-terrorism squad as they travelled to Jakarta from Solo. The city is known for its radical mosques and schools.

Police believed the militants were planning to bomb a presidential guard- changing ceremony today, Mr Fana said. Changing the guard is popular with tourists.

The woman’s will, which was found during the counter-terrorism operation, stated her desire to take part in “amaliyah”, an Arabic term used by extrem- ist groups for attacks or suicide bombings.

“They deliberately chose the target on a Sunday, when many families are hanging out around the national monument and near the palace, with the intention of causing a lot of casualties,” said Mr Habib.

Police said those arrested were suspected to be part of a militant network responsible for a bomb-making laboratory raided last month in West Java province, which was operating under the direction of Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting for ISIL in Syria.

Those detained after their arrest in last month’s raid planned to bomb targets in Jakarta, including the parliament and the Myanmar Embassy.

Indonesia has increased security operations against militants since the 2002 bombings in Bali by Al Qaeda-affiliated radicals that killed 202 people. A threat has emerged in the past several years from ISIL sympathisers.

‘ This marks a new chapter of terrorism in Indonesia, where the suicide bombing was to be carried out by a woman Ridwan Habib terrorism analyst