More Terrorists Arrests in Indonesia

By Kenneth Conboy

With a presidential election slated for 8 July, the Indonesian security forces have recently gone into overdrive while making a series of arrests of terrorist suspects. Over the past couple of days, the police counter-terrorist unit, Special Detachment 88, has detained two radicals believed to be Singaporean nationals. The first, Syamsul Anwar alias Somad bin Soba, was arrested in Bandar Lampung, Lampung province. The second, Husaini, who had been living in Malang, East Java province, was picked up while en route to Central Java.

Both were thought to have infiltrated into Indonesia in 2002 along with Slamat Kasteri, a Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist who escaped from a Singaporean prison last year and was re-captured in Malaysia on 1 April. Along with Kasteri, the two men arrested in Indonesia this past week were thought to have been tied to an aborted plot to bomb Changi International Airport in Singapore.

Residents near Syamsul Anwar’s house in Bandar Lampung expressed shock over his reported ties to terrorism. He was said to spend his time driving a pedicab and attending prayer sessions at a local mosque.

Also arrested in Indonesia this past week was Syaifudin Zuhry in Cilacap, Central Java. Zuhry was reported tailed for months and is thought to be closely tied to JI fugitive Noordin Top.