"They were closely linked to the Surabaya bombing. At least, they knew of the plan to launch the bomb attacks in Surabaya," Prasetyo said here Monday.
Terrorist suspect HS alias Hanafi alias Abu Zufar (39) was arrested in Sampang, East Java Thursday, August 22. HS was the leader of the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) in Madura.
In 2014, he was part of a terrorist training module in Sengkaling, Malang along with other suspects Abu Umar, Sutrisno, and Nurkholis. They were mentored by Abu Gar through long-distance communications.
On the same day, Densus 88 arrested BLH alias Salman (31) in Lamongan. He was the leader of the JAD Lamongan.
"On May 12, 2018, the two suspects attended a meeting of JAD leaders of the East Java chapter held at the Islamic Center Balung Bendo, Sidoarjo, a day before the Surabaya bombing," he said.
On Friday, August 23, the anti-terror squad arrested KJW (48) in Blitar. He was a member of the JAD Blitar and was allegedly aware of the weapons purchases by Anang Rustianto who had already been detained by the police.
Also in Blitar, the police arrested two more suspects namely Su and IPS alias Aslan.
On Saturday, Densus 88 apprehended YT alias Nukud (41) while he was robbing a jewelry store in Magetan. The money he collected from the robbery was to be used to join the fight in Syria, YT claimed.
A series of suicide bombings in Surabaya and Sidoarjo committed by three families killed 13 perpetrators, 14 civilians, and injured 42 others on May 13 and 14, 2018.
