Bandung, West Java (Antara Bali) - Indonesia Police chief General Tito Karnavian has ordered anti-terrorist squad Densus 88 to continue to track down terrorist networks planning any act of terror in the country.
"I have ordered to continue the hunt for such terrorist networks," he said after he delivered a general lecture on the Indonesia Police's policy of preserving national unity and solidarity and enhancing tolerance at the Padjadjaran University here on Thursday.
He reminded that Densus 88 had successfully foiled groups planning to conduct terror acts during Christmas and New Year celebrations.
" Densus members thwarted the plans of three groups to carry out planned terror acts. I praise them really because terror poses a threat to us all," he reiterated.
He disclosed that the three groups planned to conduct bombings in Jakarta, Bali, Tangerang and Banten.
"Yesterday, in South Tangerang (Banten province in West Java), we discovered 14 live bombs that were to be used and also firearms. The bombs were in the form of pipes and could have been very dangerous," he explained.
General Karnavian commented that he hoped Densus 88s action would deter other terrorist networks from conducting any act of terror in Indonesia.
"Following the arrests in Payakumbuh, Deli Serdang and Batam yesterday, I now feel more confident. However, we must not be over confident. We must remain alert," he stressed.
Eight suspected terrorists were arrested in four regions in the country on Wednesday while three were killed after they defied polices efforts to arrest them in South Tangerang, Banten province.
In 2016, Densus 88 arrested some 40 terror suspects from across the country, General Karnavian informed, hoping that it would deter other terrorists.
President Joko Widodo praised the swift action undertaken by the anti-terror squad Densus 88 and other police officers involved in preventing a bomb attack by alleged terrorists in Tangerang Selatan on Wednesday.
The squad arrested one suspected terrorist and killed three others in the district in Banten Province, located in the vicinity of the capital city of Jakarta.(WDY)
