Jakarta – Indonesian Police killed three suspected Islamist militants and arrested another during a raid near the Capital, Jakarta on Wednesday.
“There was resistance from the terrorists and one of them threw a bomb,’’ said national police spokesperson Rikwanto.
“Police also seized three homemade bombs from the rented house in South Tangerang, just southwest of Jakarta.
“The bombs were later defused,’’ he said.
Rikwanto said an alleged plot would have involved an attacker stabbing police to attract a crowd and then detonating a bomb.
Anti-terrorism police arrested a suspected militant in the town of Deli Serdang and another in Payakumbuh – both on Sumatra Island.
Earlier this month, police arrested seven people on suspicion of planning a suicide bomb attack on a changing of the guard ceremony at the presidential palace on December 11.
Rikwanto said initial intelligence indicated that the South Tangerang group was part of the presidential palace attack plotters, whom police said were linked to the Islamic State extremist group.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim majority country, has suffered several deadly attacks attributed to Islamist militants in recent years.
In January of this year terrorist attacks rocked Jakarta, leading to eight deaths.
Police arrested 12 people in connection with the bomb and gun attacks.
