3 Police Officers Killed As Suicide Bombers Strike Jakarta Just Days Before Ramadan
Two suicide bombers were also killed in the attack.
By Sadho Ram — 25 May 2017, 01:53 PM
Last night, 24 May, two suicide bombers blew themselves up at Jakarta's Kampung Melayu Terminal, one of Jakarta's busiest transit hubs. In the blasts — that went off five minutes apart — three police officers were killed and at least 10 other people were injured.
The aftermath of suicide bombings at the Kampung Melayu bus station.
Image via Dasril Roszandi/European Pressphoto Agency via NYTWhile initially, it was reported that there was one suicide bomber, National Police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said that examination of the scene had shown that there have been two suicide bombers
"I have to convey my deepest condolences because three police officers died," Wasisto was quoted as saying by The Star Online, who added that five other police officers and five civilians were injured during the attack carried out by two men.
On what kind of bombs were used, Wasisto said the bombers filled pressure cookers with explosive materials, nails and buckshots
"Based on the crime scene investigation, two of the perpetrators carried the pressure cooker bombs in their carrier bags. We found [pieces of] nails and buckshots in the pressure cooker," The Jakarta Post reported Wasisto as saying.
Police officers place tape near covered up human remains at the Kampung Melayu bus terminal.
Image via AsiaOne via AFPWho were the suicide bombers?
The two suspects had ties to militants in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
According to The Straits Times, a police source identified the first suspect as Solihin, an administrative staff at the Darul Anshor, an Islamic boarding school in Poso, and the other as Ichwan Nurul Salam, a 34-year-old man from Bandung, West Java.
Counter-terrorism investigators, on the other hand, are trying to establish if the two suspects were also linked to the remnants of the East Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) militant group which operates out of Poso, reported The Straits Times.
Last night's bombing followed a similar pattern of attack by domestic militants targeting local police officers in Indonesia. As there had been a large police presence at the bus station for a parade, part of the city's activities leading up to Ramadan.
Meanwhile, PM Najib Razak has condemned the bombings
"I am disgusted by last night's attack in Jakarta. Malaysians stand with the Indonesian people at this time. My thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of those affected. Even as the terrorists try to intimidate us, we must not fear them.
"Each atrocity must harden our resolve. Now more than ever is the time to be united, even as violent extremism seeks to divide us."
