Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Police Chief General Tito Karnavian said cases of terrorism rose in number to 17 in 2018 from 12 cases in 2017.

The law issued after the terror bombs in Surabaya in May 2018, made it easier for police to intercept and prevent terror attacks, Tito told reporters in a news conference here on Thursday.

"Criminalization of early action is good that police could prevent or launch `preemptive strike` rather than awaiting until we have proof," the general said.

With the Law No. 5 of 2018, police succeeded in preventing terror attacks before the big event Asian Games 2018, Asian Para Games 2018 and the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, he said.

As many as 270 suspected terrorists were nabbed on charge of terror threats and police already knew the map that terror attack could be minimized when Asian Games took place.

In the whole the year, cases of terrorism involving 396 suspects were unveiled and legal action had been taken against 141 of suspects. Around 25 suspects were killed in the process of law enforcement,13 died in suicide attacks and 12 had been convicted.

Meanwhile, 8 police officers were killed by terrorists , up from only 4 in 2017.

However, Tito said in general, the number of criminal cases both conventional and trans-national declined in 2018.
Reporting by Dyah Dwi Astuti, A Saragih

Editing by Andi Abdussalam

Reporter: Antara
Editor: Yosep Hariyadi
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