Update: The National Police have confirmed that the suspected terrorist’s wife, and her child, were killed in the suicide bomb. The child’s age is not yet known as police haven’t recovered their bodies as of this morning.
The wife of a suspected terrorist has committed suicide by detonating a bomb inside her house early this morning, the Indonesian National Police have confirmed, after resisting arrest since Tuesday afternoon.
According to the police, as detailed in a chronology of events by Detik, the Densus 88 counter-terrorism unit arrested a suspected ISIS-linked terrorist named Abu Hamzah in the North Sumatra city of Sibolga at 2:23 pm yesterday. The police say Abu Hamzah is part of the same terror group as a 23-year-old suspected terrorist, who had been arrested in the city of Lampung on Saturday, after he was reported to the police by his parents.
At 2:50 pm, a bomb exploded inside Abu Hamzah’s house on Jalan KH Ahmad Dahlan after Densus 88 had raided it to search for evidence. It’s understood that Abu Hamzah’s wife — who has yet to be identified — and child resisted arrest before the blast, which wounded an officer and a civilian.
A standoff between Densus 88 and Abu Hamzah’s wife then ensued for hours. At 2 am, with the wife not having surrendered, police say she committed suicide by bomb, though it’s not yet clear if she took any other lives, including those of her children.
“According to information gathered from the field, the wife blew herself up at 2 am,” National Police Spokesperson Brigadier General Dedi Prasetyo told reporters this morning, as quoted by Detik.
“Right now [Densus 88] is sterilizing the location. They’re investigating the crime scene and evacuating the suspected detonator.”
Authorities were still sweeping Abu Hamzah’s home for more explosives as of this morning.
The police say Abu Hamzah is a member of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), the banned ISIS-linked organization also accused of being behind last year horrific suicide bombings in Surabaya — two of which involved suspected terrorists bringing their children along with them in suicide attacks — and the deadly attack in Thamrin, Jakarta in January 2016.
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