Terrorists may soon strike again: Police
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Police issued a fresh warning on Wednesday asking operators and owners of buildings in the capital to beware of possible terrorist attacks, adding that terrorists might strike again soon.
A top police officer familiar with the investigation into terrorism in Indonesia told The Jakarta Post and Kompas dailies that building managements should be on alert as "the attacks could be carried out any time."
"It is of paramount importance, and necessary for building managements, policemen and the public to be on alert as terrorist suspects Dr. Azahari and Noordin M. Top are still at large and may launch another attack at any time," the one-star police general said, asking to remain anonymous.
He was referring to Malaysian citizen terrorist suspects, known for their expertise in rigging bombs like those that exploded in Legian, Bali, on Oct. 12 last year and the car bomb that ripped through the lobby of JW Marriott Hotel, Jakarta, on Aug. 5.
Azahari and Noordin managed to evade a police dragnet after the police managed to capture Marriott bombing suspects Thohir and Ismail, in Cirebon, West Java.
The officer showed a list of targets written on a note in Asmar Latin Sani's handwriting. Asmar was the one who allegedly blew himself up, along with the Marriott bomb. The note was discovered in Azahari's rented rooms on Jl. Kebon Kembang, Bandung, West Java.
Among the targets were Citibank Landmark, Setiabudi (South Jakarta), Citibank Pondok Indah (South Jakarta), the Caltex office, Kebon Jeruk (West Jakarta), residences of expatriates in Kemang (South Jakarta), Hero shopping center in Kemang (South Jakarta), Kem Chicks, Kemang (South Jakarta), JW Marriott Hotel (South Jakarta) and international schools, including Jakarta International School and the Australian International School.
The officer asserted that the locations could still become possible targets for another terrorist attack, recounting the previous experience of the Marriott bombing.
"The police already knew that Asmar would commit a suicide bombing as we intercepted an e-mailed message he sent to Toni Togar (another terrorist suspect arrested in Bengkulu) on April 19, saying that he was prepared for a suicide bombing. Unfortunately, he simply detonated the bomb at a time that we had not expected," he said.
Asked about the possibility that Azahari and Noordin had managed to enter Jakarta despite an intensive and massive police manhunt across the country, he said, "It's possible. We have no clue at all about their whereabouts right now."
He added that both suspects might have recruited new people to launch further attacks.
"Remember -- while they were on the run after the Bali bombings, they were still capable of launching another attack on the Marriott," he said.