SURABAYA, Indonesia According to officials, Indonesian authorities detained a 19-year-old member of an Islamic extremist group and his parents last week, thwarting a plot to suicide bomb two churches.
“The teenager, known only by his initials H.O.K., was taken into custody on Wednesday, July 31, at around 7:15 p.m. while he was traveling to dispose of evidence in Sisir village, Batu City, Jalan Langsep, Malang Regency, East Java.”
Anti-Terror Special Detachment 88 Spokesperson Aswin Siregar revealed this information at a press conference in Jakarta on August 4.
The Batu police and the Special Detachment 88 squad members assisted in the arrest.
“H.O.K. is a supporter of ISIS or Dawlah Islamiyah,” Aswin told reporters on Thursday (August 1) in Jakarta.
According to Aswin, H.O.K. and his accomplices were planning to carry out suicide bombings using Triaceton Triperoxide (TATP) explosives at two Christian churches in Malang Regency, East Java. H.O.K. had allegedly joined the alleged Islamic State (ISIS)-affiliated Dawlah Islamiyah online.
TATP, widely known as the “Mother of Satan,” is one of the most potent and dangerous explosives. Preliminary investigations indicated that H.O.K. often accessed various websites containing Dawlah Islamiyah propaganda that led him to try to carry out suicide bombings, Aswin said.
“He accessed various sites containing recommendations or propaganda from Dawlah Islamiyah,” Aswin reportedly said. “Then he also got information from social media, so that he felt like carrying out the suicide bombing.”
According to TribunJakarta.com, the suspect bought explosives and other necessary tools for the attack with savings from school allowances.
H.O.K.’s parents were also arrested on Wednesday (July 31), and police detained several other people for questioning.
Aswin stated, “Densus 88 is still looking into the possibility of his connections to other ISIS support networks.” “Several individuals were questioned, including his relatives or parents.”
He claimed that a train had taken the parents into custody.
During a train journey to Jakarta, Aswin conveyed that the parents of the suspected terrorist were apprehended.
Further evidence confirms that the suspect’s parents did not have any bombs or explosives.
His statement clarified the information regarding the parents’ arrest at their temporary rental home in Bunga Tanjung Housing Complex Kav, 34, Jeding Village, Junrejo District.
The house is adjacent to the Islamic boarding school, As-Sunnah, in Batu City, Malang, East Java.
Aswin said police had arrested another suspected terrorist in Solo, Central Java, who was on his way to Jakarta by train.
H.O.K. and his family live in Jakarta but have rented a house in Batu twice over the past few years.
The head of the local neighborhood association in Batu identified only as Yulianto and told Tempo. Co that the family was secretive and hardly associated with neighbors.
Muslims account for 83.3 percent of Indonesia’s population, while 11.43 percent identify as Christian, with the evangelical population estimated at 3.23 percent, according to the Joshua Project.
Indonesia ranked 42nd on the Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most challenging to be a Christian.
According to the W.W.L. report, Indonesian society has taken on a more conservative Islamic character, putting churches engaged in evangelistic outreach at risk of attack by Islamic extremist groups.