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Air of unease hangs over Indonesia amid disputed election, provoking Prabowo supporters and awakening dormant terror cells
- Analysts say extremists are looking to exploit the country’s restive atmosphere ahead of the announcement of poll results on May 22
- So far, 19 suspected terrorists, as well as a Prabowo supporter who threatened to ‘cut off Jokowi’s head’, have been arrested as police race to disrupt attacks that were reportedly going to target mass gatherings
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A suspected terrorist cell made up of men with experience fighting in Syria has been broken up, Indonesian police said on Thursday, as part of a crackdown following the discovery of a plot to launch attacks during the announcement of the country’s election results next week.
The men are allegedly members of the Islamic State-linked Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) group, which has been responsible for a string of terror attacks throughout Indonesia over the past four years.
“The suspects were arrested on May 14,” said Indonesian national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo. “The cell totalled nine men, eight were from Central Java, one from East Java. Of the nine men, seven have experience fighting in Syria.”
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The latest arrests bring the total number of suspects detained over the past two weeks to 19, as police race against time to disrupt attacks that were reportedly going to target mass gatherings before or during the announcement of election results next Wednesday.
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With more than 80 per cent of the ballots that were cast on April 17 having been counted, incumbent President Joko Widodo is leading his challenger, former general Prabowo Subianto, by 12 percentage points.
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