Indonesia arrests Jakarta terror attack suspects

Indonesian police said Saturday they had identified the five men they believe carried out this week's terror attack in central Jakarta, and arrested 12 others allegedly linked to the assault, which was claimed by the self-proclaimed "Islamic State."

"We ... have carried out acts of force. We have done searches, we have made arrests and we have obtained evidence connected with the terrorist bombing at Sarinah," Jakarta police spokesman Mohammad Iqbal told a news conference.

"We will not say how many people or what sort of evidence we have as it will upset our strategy. Be patient, when the case is closed and things are clear we will disclose them."

Seven people, including the five assailants, were killed in Thursday's attack near the Sarinah department store in the Indonesian capital's commercial district. About 30 people were wounded.

Police held up pictures of the dead and wounded at the news conference, including an image of a man they said had begun the siege by blowing himself up in a Starbucks cafe.

Another attacker, who opened fire with a gun outside the cafe, was identified as Afif. According to a National Counter-Terrorism Agency spokesman, Afif had served seven years in prison, where he refused to cooperate with a de-radicalization program.

The brazenness of the Jakarta attack suggested a new brand of militancy in a nation where extremists have typically launched low-level strikes against police.

Malaysians make arrest

In neighboring Malaysia, meanwhile, police arrested a man in the capital, Kuala Lumpur and said he had confessed to planning a suicide attack there.

Police Inspector-General Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement that the 28-year-old Malaysian confessed to planning a suicide attack after receiving orders from a foreign member of "Islamic State" (IS) in Syria.

"The suspect is also responsible for hanging IS flags at several locations ... to warn the government to stop arresting IS members in Malaysia," Khalid said.

He did not give any details as to where and how the suspect planned to attack. Khalid added that three other suspects were also arrested at the Kuala Lumpur airport this week after returning from Turkey.

While Malaysia said it has beefed up security in public areas and along its border, Indonesia said it had shut down at least 11 radical websites and several social media accounts, including several on Facebook that expressed support for the Jakarta attack, according to Ismail Cawidu, a public relations official at the communications ministry.

"We are monitoring many websites and public complaints about this," said Cawidu.

bik/se (AP, Reuters)