Indonesia: Police arrest 8 Daesh-linked militants

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) - Indonesia’s anti-terror agency on Thursday arrested eight militants for their links to a radical group that has carried out suicide bombing attacks on police in recent years.

Police spokesman Martinus Sitompul told Anadolu Agency that the Daesh-linked Jemaah Anshorut Daulah (JAD) had committed several acts of terrorism, including a suicide bombing this May at Kampung Melayu bus terminal in Jakarta, which killed three policemen.

Of the eight militants, five were arrested 89 kilometers (55 miles) from Jakarta in Banten, while three were arrested in North Sumatra’s provincial capital Medan.

"This arrest will prevent suicide bombings and other acts of terror on the police," said Sitompul.

JAD is a network of about two dozen Indonesian extremist groups formed in 2015.

It has branches in several cities across the country, and recruits members using social media, police said.

He said that police are on the lookout for militants of the group, and will make arrests to prevent further acts of terrorism in the country.

Indonesia has been on high alert since a January 2016 terrorist attack in Jakarta that left eight people dead, including four attackers.