Indonesia arrests 59 suspects who planned to attack the elections

Jakarta, Oct 31 (Prensa Latina) Indonesian authorities on Tuesday reported the arrest of 59 suspected members of two groups linked to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, who were suspected of planning attacks during the elections in February 2024

October 31, 2023
11:59

Of those arrested, 19 belonged to the Yemaa Islamiya group, which has links to Al Qaeda and is believed to be behind the bomb attacks in Bali, where more than 200 people were killed in 2002.

The other 40 detainees belonged to the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which has ties to the Islamic State (IS).

The arrests were made during a series of operations in different parts of the country by Indonesia’s anti-terrorism unit, Densus 88 anti-terrorism task force spokesman Aswin Siregar told a press conference on Tuesday.

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country and has been hit by a series of Islamic attacks in the years following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Notable among these were the bombings on the tourist island of Bali in 2002, when 202 people, mostly Australian tourists, were killed. The action was attributed to the Al Qaeda-linked Islamist cell Jemaa Islamiya, which is still operating in Indonesia.

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