"I have made this request to the immigration office, asking them to deny entry to such persons. We made the request in anticipation of their potential to disrupt security and public order in Indonesia," he said here on Saturday.
According to police data, he said as of now there are 308 Indonesian nationals in Syria, although not all of them have joined the radical ISIS group.
"Not all of them are involved with the ISIS. Some are only staying temporarily there," he said.
Meanwhile, the polices anti-terror squad Densus 88 has arrested 12 people following the terror attacks in the business district on Thamrin Boulevard in Jakarta on Thursday. They were arrested from various regions, including West Java, East Java and East Kalimantan.
The police are still investigating into their possible role in the attacks on Thursday.
As per the law, the police have seven days to determine whether or not they were involved in the crime.
Seven people died in the incident on Thursday, including five attackers. Two of the attackers blew themselves up and three were shot to death.
Two other victims who died were civilians - one a Canadian national and another an Indonesian citizen.
The incident left more than 20 people injured.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
