A policeman from the Daha Selatan precinct of South Kalimantan Province died after a suspected terrorist attacked him with a Samurai sword early on Monday, a spokesperson said.
The suspected terrorist was later shot by police officers while trying to evade surrender.
Before he assaulted Brigadier Leonardo Latupapua, who was on duty at the time, the attacker allegedly set a police patrol vehicle, parked in the police precinct’s front yard, on fire, South Kalimantan Police spokesperson Sen.Coms.Mochamad Rifa'i said here on Monday.
The assault occurred around 2.15 a.m. local time.
Police officers shot the suspect after he ignored orders to surrender, the police spokesperson said. His body was taken to the Hasan Basyri Kandangan Public Hospital for post-mortem examination, he added.
During a preliminary probe, police investigators found several items linking the suspect to the burning of the police patrol car, including a jerry can containing fuel. They also retrieved a Samurai sword from him.
Indonesia has been a target of terrorist attacks since 2000, and the spread of radicalism and terrorism continues to threaten the country.
In May, 2018, a church in the East Java city of Surabaya was attacked by terrorists, as reported by ANTARA at the time. Earlier, on January 14, 2016, ISIS supporters in Indonesia had launched a suicide bombing and shooting attack in Jakarta, resulting in the deaths of eight people, including three civilians.
The incident added to the list of deadly assaults conducted by terrorist cells in Indonesia. From 2000 to 2012, over a dozen attacks have taken place in the Indonesian capital, including the Australian embassy bombing of September 9, 2004, and the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings of July 17, 2009.
One of the most effective ways of freeing Indonesia from radicalism and terrorism is empowering women in the country, as they can actively contribute to preventing children from being misled by terrorist recruiters.
To crush terrorism, the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) will soon be pulled in for counter-terrorism efforts.
The Indonesian presidential regulation on engaging the TNI in countering terrorism would deter any terrorist group in the country from continuing its activities, according to a terrorism expert from the University of Indonesia (UI).
"The draft of the presidential regulation, a follow up to Law Number 5 of 2018 on Countering Terrorism, will deter terrorist groups. If the TNI gets involved, there will likely be a shock factor and fear," Ridlwan Habib recently said.
The regulation, which is expected to be issued soon by President Joko Widodo, encompasses comprehensive information on the TNI's involvement in cracking down on terrorism from the nascent stages: from preventing to countering terrorist attacks and recovery, he remarked.
Habib opined that involving the TNI in fighting terrorism would be a good decision since the military’s intelligence capabilities would help to effectively prevent terror acts.
The TNI has capable intelligence units, right from the headquarters to territorial units. Consequently, its intelligence data can be applied to deter terrorist groups from conducting planned acts of terror, he remarked. (INE)
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