Policeman involved in Seram attack: Chief

Policeman involved in Seram attack: Chief

M. Azis Tunny and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Ambon/Denpasar

Two of the eight people who attacked a police post on Monday on
Seram island were active police personnel, a top officer in
Maluku said on Thursday. Seven people, including five police
officers and one of the attackers, died in the incident.

One of the officers suspected of involvement in the attack has
been arrested, while the other officer is still at large, said
Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Adityawarman.

"There were eight perpetrators in the attack. One was shot
dead and two others have been arrested, namely a police officer
and another suspect, N, a member of a hard-line Muslim group in
Ambon," said Adityawarman during a press conference in the Maluku
capital of Ambon.

According to Adityawarman, police are currently searching for
five other suspects in the attack, including a police officer.
Adityawarman said the attack was led by Dahlan, alias Asep, who
was arrested by the police a few hours after the incident in
Batumerah subdistrict, Ambon city.

He said Dahlan and N were believed to have received military-
style training in Moro, the Philippines, where Muslim fighters
have been fighting for independence for years.

According to Adityawarman, the police post that was attacked
in West Seram regency was located on the border between Muslim
and Christian subdistrict, but added that it was premature to
conclude the attack was religiously motivated.

He said the two suspects in custody had confessed to attacking
the police post because officers there were protecting the
Christian subdistrict rather than the Muslim one, but
investigators were still looking into the motive behind the
attack. "Some residents told police investigators that when the
attack took place, the attackers ordered residents in the
Christian subdistrict to stay at home to prevent fatalities,"
said Adityawarman.

He said that from statements given by residents, it appeared
the attackers were only targeting police personnel at the post,
leading investigators to question whether the violence was
religiously motivated.

The arrest of two suspects in the Seram attack has helped shed
light on a string of recent armed attacks in the province of
Maluku. The suspects have told investigators that the same people
behind the Seram incident were responsible for the earlier
attacks in Maluku.

A group of armed men launched an assault in Wamkana
subdistrict on Buru island last year that killed three people. In
separate incidents in February, groups of attackers fired on the
a ship near Buru and the Villa cafe in Hative Besar, Ambon city,
killing four people. Police have arrested six people in
connection with these attacks and are still searching for
additional suspects.