Police: Abduction threat by terrorists may be real
Police: Abduction threat by terrorists may be real
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
National Police chief Gen. Sutanto is taking seriously the
possibility terrorists could kidnap senior government officials
or foreigners, as part of a new strategy in the country.
Speaking on the sidelines of an inauguration ceremony for new
military and police officers in Surabaya on Wednesday, Sutanto
said police would beef up security in target areas to help
prevent possible abductions.
"We surely don't want (kidnapping) to occur, therefore, we are
tightening security in areas that are considered prone to danger
such as public and religious places," Sutanto said as quoted by
Antara.
Sutanto was commenting on remarks made on Tuesday by chief of
the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) Syamsir Siregar. He said
BIN had received credible reports that terrorists had decided to
abduct prominent figures instead of launching new bomb attacks
during the Christmas and New Year season, after the government
beefed up security across the country ahead of the holidays.
The terrorists would target figures who made policy, including
ministers, bureaucrats and foreign diplomats, Syamsir said.
A senior intelligence officer, who wished to remain anonymous,
said the agency had analyzed data obtained from tapped telephone
lines, intercepted e-mails and other communications.
He urged the government to pay attention on the warning
because it was based on strong evidence.
"It would tarnish the agency's reputation if BIN failed to
warn the public about the (possible) abductions and they later
occurred," the officer said.
Although Indonesia's most-wanted terrorist, Azahari bin Husin,
was killed in a police raid last month in Malang, East Java, his
compatriot Noordin Mohd. Top remains at large.
Both Azahari and Noordin, top operatives of the al-Qaeda-
linked Jamaah Islamiyah organization, are believed responsible
for a string of bomb attacks in the country since 2002. The
latest attacks in Bali on Oct. 1, killed 23 people, including the
three suicide bombers.
Police believe Noordin will launch a revenge attack and has
recruited more followers in the past few weeks.
A document found during a raid at one of Noordin's hideouts
said the group planned to bomb unspecified targets in Jakarta.
News also emerged last month that a website purportedly set up
under militant orders gave instructions on how to shoot
foreigners in the streets of Jakarta or throw grenades at
motorists stuck in traffic in the car-jammed city.
The U.S. and Australian embassies have also issued warnings in
recent weeks that foreigners could be targeted during the holiday
season.
Police across Indonesia have been tightening security ahead of
the holidays to prevent attacks, including a repeat of the 2000
Christmas Eve bombings of churches in several Indonesian cities
which killed 19.