Indonesia’s elite anti-terrorism unit went on a busy 24-hour spree to root out suspected Islamic militants, killing seven and arresting six others in three separate operations that may have links to a foiled plot to bomb the Myanmar Embassy.
In the latest raid, police shot and killed three suspected militants early on Thursday after an all-night standoff at a house in the Central Java town of Kebumen. Four others were arrested, said National Police spokesman Brigadier-General Boy Rafli Amar.
He said the three dead suspects refused to surrender and resisted by firing guns and lobbing homemade bombs at security forces.
A similar showdown occurred hours earlier in the West Java village of Cigondewah, where three suspected terrorists were fatally shot after holing up for hours inside a house, said National Police chief General Timur Pradopo. They also engaged in a shootout and hurled bombs, but no officers were hurt in either incident.
One other suspect was taken into custody in that raid, he said. However, earlier National Police chief General Timur Pradopo said two were arrested there.
Police also confiscated three pistols and four pipe bombs at the house located about 120km southeast of the capital, Jakarta, where the men had been living for the past four months, Pradopo said. They were believed to have been involved in several robberies.
“We have tried everything to prevent fatalities,” Pradopo told reporters at the scene. “But during three and a half hours of negotiations, they resisted using gunshots and explosions.”