Terror attack warning: Will be indiscriminate and target government<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Terror bomb attacks may well continue, albeit with government
\nfacilities as the new targets, as opposed to public places, an
\nofficial and an expert warned on Monday.<\/p>\n
The terror attacks could also strike in unexpected places,
\nthey said.<\/p>\n
Insp. Gen. Ansjaad Mbai, chairman of the antiterror body at
\nthe Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and
\nSecurity Affairs, and expert Hermawan Sulistyo of the National
\nInstitute of Sciences (LIPI), said that the country's security
\nauthorities would likely fail to prevent possible terror attacks
\nbecause \"they simply do not have the ability to do so.\"<\/p>\n
Ansjaad and Hermawan were commenting on Monday's bomb blast at
\nthe House of Representatives compound in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Even though we have been on the alert for possible bomb
\nthreats in Jakarta and other cities, we cannot predict when and
\nwhere such terror attacks will occur.<\/p>\n
\"One thing for sure is that terror acts remain a threat in
\nthis country and will continue to pose a problem, even if we
\n(security officers) manage to arrest many of the alleged
\nperpetrators. They (the perpetrators) seem to come up with new
\nmotives to commit such acts all the time,\" Ansjaad said.<\/p>\n
According to Ansjaad, the House, as well as other state-owned
\nassets, was under tight security, but since the perpetrators keep
\nchanging their tactics, \"they may still be able to attack those
\nplaces.\"<\/p>\n
\"Some of us believe that the more security officers we deploy,
\nthe safer those places are ... but learning from the recent case,
\nno one knows when an attack will strike next,\" Ansjaad said.<\/p>\n
Hermawan meanwhile expressed skepticism that the terror
\nthreats would end, saying that the situation would be tougher for
\nthe government's official security guard contingent because
\n\"future bomb attacks will be indiscriminate and unpredictable.\"<\/p>\n
Hermawan further said that the police had yet to improve their
\nability to deter terror attacks.<\/p>\n
\"The police, as well as other security forces, have been on
\nthe alert over possible bomb threats following the arrest of
\nJamaah Islamiyah (JI) members last week in Semarang (Central
\nJava). And since their (JI members) scope of operation has become
\nlimited, they will launch indiscriminate attacks,\" Hermawan told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Both Ansjaad and Hermawan speculated that JI -- a network
\nwhich has been put on the UN's international terrorist list --
\nwas likely behind the explosion inside the House compound.
\nHowever, Hermawan stressed that \"the clandestine group will not
\nconduct such terror acts on its own because there is a high
\npossibility that it has been infiltrated by various interest
\ngroups, including those with a political agenda.\"<\/p>\n
Hermawan pointed out that Monday's blast was not related to
\nthe ongoing political activities at the House, including the
\ninvestigation over the purchase of Russian-made Sukhoi aircraft.<\/p>\n
Both Ansjaad and Hermawan dismissed the possible involvement
\nof the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the blast, considering that
\nthe secessionist group \"usually deploys low explosive bombs
\ninstead of high explosive ones that went off at the House
\ncompound.\"<\/p>\n
\"Looking at JI's patterns, I believe that they were involved
\nin the explosion at the House compound because it is the only
\norganization in this country that has the necessary
\ninfrastructure to do so,\" Ansjaad said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/terror-attack-warning-will-be-indiscriminate-and-target-government-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}