Police in Indonesia arrested three men Friday in connection with a deadly bombing in Jakarta.
Two died and more than 20 were wounded on Thursday.
The three suspected militants were arrested in Depok, a suburb of Jakarta. Other raids were conducted throughout the country and suspected militants were detained, according to Reuters news agency.
A police spokesman said one of the attacker’s homes was searched. Items linked to the Islamic State were found in that raid. Those items included IS flags and T-shirts.
Police identified four of the five attackers in Thursday’s violence. All five died during the bombings and gun attack. The attack took place in a busy part of Jakarta near a shopping center and foreign embassies.
Law enforcement officials also announced Indonesian Bahrun Naim was the man who planned Thursday's attack. He is believed to be fighting for the Islamic State terror group in Syria.
President Joko Widodo visited the scene of the attack Thursday. He asked Indonesians for calm and to be courageous during this time.
While Indonesia recovers, officials told VOA news, between 200 and 300 IS sympathizers are in the country. The Islamic State has increased recruitment in Indonesia. Close to 13 percent of the world’s Islamic population lives in Indonesia. That translates to more than 200 million Muslims in Indonesia.
If the IS link to the Jakarta attack is proven, it will be the first time the group targeted Indonesia. The country has been the site of a number of terrorist attacks. Bombings in Bali in 2002 killed 202 people. The last attack against foreigners was a twin hotel bombing in Jakarta in 2009.
I’m Jim Dresbach.
This report was based on information from VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted it for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.
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Words in This Story
sympathizer – n. one who feels or shows support for or approval of something
recruitment – n. the process to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization or the armed forces
