Indonesia: Daesh-linked suspect planned to attack Bali

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) – Indonesian police revealed Sunday that they suspect that an alleged Daesh-linked militant arrested last week was preparing an attack on the tourist resort island of Bali.

National police spokesman Brig. Agus Rianto told Anadolu Agency that a group connected to Dwiatmoko, who like many Indonesians uses one name, had plans to “carry out an attack in Bali some time in the future”.

Counter-terror personnel arrested Dwiatmoko -- also known as Abu Ibrahim Al Atsary -- at his home in Sumatra island Tuesday.

He was reportedly involved in a suicide bombing in central Java that killed the attacker and injured a policeman ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday last month. He is accused of having made the bomb and provided it to the attacker.

Earlier this week, authorities said Dwiatmoko had close ties with an Indonesian who joined Daesh in Syria, Bahrun Naim, who is suspected to have masterminded an attack that killed eight people, including four Daesh-linked assailants, in January.

While searching Dwiatmoko's workplace, police reportedly recovered a container holding around 150 grams of explosive substances.

"After we conducted a scientific examination, it turns out that it [the explosive] is triacetone triperoxide, which is one of the primary explosives with large force and is highly explosive," Rianto said Sunday.

During a visit to Bali last week, national police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian had instructed personnel to remain on alert, warning that the island could be a potential target of a terrorist attack.

He instructed that security be tightened at vital areas such as police stations and embassies and during events attended by foreign tourists.

"Bali is one potential terror target, because it is a popular tourist destination in the world," Karnavian was quoted as saying by tribunnews.com.

Indonesia has been on alert against extremist activities over the past year, further heightening security measures after the January attack in the capital.

In 2002, Bali witnessed a series of bombings that that killed 202 people -- mostly Australians -- in an attack blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaeda’s Southeast Asia affiliate.