Indonesia arrests 53 people on suspicion of planning Independence Day attack

SANAA, Aug. 20 (YPA) – Indonesian police said on Friday they had arrested 53 militants on suspicion of planning an attack on Independence Day this week.

Among those arrested were people believed to be members of networks blamed for previous attacks such as the 2002 Bali bombings, the Indonesian police said in a statement.

The police added that some of the detainees belonged to the Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda (the terrorist banned in Russia) or the “Ansar al-Dawla” group, which is inspired by the ideology and approach of the Islamic State and was also blamed for the bombing of a church on Sulawesi island in March.

Argo Yoono, a spokesman for the national police, told reporters that the arrests were made in 11 provinces in the week prior to Indonesia’s Independence Day, which was commemorated last Tuesday.

“They were tracking people from the government, and they wanted to take advantage of the momentum of Independence Day,” he added, without specifying names. Argo said the police confiscated weapons, ammunition and donation boxes used to raise money.