Policeman involved in Seram attack: Chief<\/p>\n
M. Azis Tunny and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Ambon\/Denpasar<\/p>\n
Two of the eight people who attacked a police post on Monday on
\nSeram island were active police personnel, a top officer in
\nMaluku said on Thursday. Seven people, including five police
\nofficers and one of the attackers, died in the incident.<\/p>\n
One of the officers suspected of involvement in the attack has
\nbeen arrested, while the other officer is still at large, said
\nMaluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Adityawarman.<\/p>\n
\"There were eight perpetrators in the attack. One was shot
\ndead and two others have been arrested, namely a police officer
\nand another suspect, N, a member of a hard-line Muslim group in
\nAmbon,\" said Adityawarman during a press conference in the Maluku
\ncapital of Ambon.<\/p>\n
According to Adityawarman, police are currently searching for
\nfive other suspects in the attack, including a police officer.
\nAdityawarman said the attack was led by Dahlan, alias Asep, who
\nwas arrested by the police a few hours after the incident in
\nBatumerah subdistrict, Ambon city.<\/p>\n
He said Dahlan and N were believed to have received military-
\nstyle training in Moro, the Philippines, where Muslim fighters
\nhave been fighting for independence for years.<\/p>\n
According to Adityawarman, the police post that was attacked
\nin West Seram regency was located on the border between Muslim
\nand Christian subdistrict, but added that it was premature to
\nconclude the attack was religiously motivated.<\/p>\n
He said the two suspects in custody had confessed to attacking
\nthe police post because officers there were protecting the
\nChristian subdistrict rather than the Muslim one, but
\ninvestigators were still looking into the motive behind the
\nattack. \"Some residents told police investigators that when the
\nattack took place, the attackers ordered residents in the
\nChristian subdistrict to stay at home to prevent fatalities,\"
\nsaid Adityawarman.<\/p>\n
He said that from statements given by residents, it appeared
\nthe attackers were only targeting police personnel at the post,
\nleading investigators to question whether the violence was
\nreligiously motivated.<\/p>\n
The arrest of two suspects in the Seram attack has helped shed
\nlight on a string of recent armed attacks in the province of
\nMaluku. The suspects have told investigators that the same people
\nbehind the Seram incident were responsible for the earlier
\nattacks in Maluku.<\/p>\n
A group of armed men launched an assault in Wamkana
\nsubdistrict on Buru island last year that killed three people. In
\nseparate incidents in February, groups of attackers fired on the
\na ship near Buru and the Villa cafe in Hative Besar, Ambon city,
\nkilling four people. Police have arrested six people in
\nconnection with these attacks and are still searching for
\nadditional suspects.<\/p>",
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