For safety reasons, the police investigators warned local residents to avoid entering the terror suspect's home as the bomb’s remains were still found inside, North Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Agus Andrianto told journalists in Medan on Wednesday.
The wife and child of Husein, alias Abu Hamzah, a terror suspect, were killed inside the house, located in front of Al Mukhlisin Mosque at Cendrawasih Street, Sibolga, the capital city of Central Tapanuli District, North Sumatra Province, on Wednesday.
According to Andrianto, the remains of the bombs would be destroyed at the backyard of the Central Tapanuli police precinct, considering the local residents' trauma after the bomb blasts.
The bodies of Husein's wife and child had been evacuated to Sibolga Public Hospital for being checked and identified by the police's Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) team members, he stated.
In the meantime, National Police Chief General Tito Karnavian noted earlier that the suspected terrorists arrested in North Sumatra Province's Sibolga and Lampung Province were part of the networks affiliated to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group.
"They belong to the networks affiliated to ISIS," he remarked, after attending a get-together at the Al Kautsar Islamic boarding school in Medan, North Sumatra, on Tuesday night.
The National Police's anti-terror squad, Densus 88, arrested Husein in Sibolga, North Sumatra. However, his wife and children refused calls to leave their house and surrender.
Husein was caught following the arrest of a suspected terrorist, identified by his initial as R, in Lampung.
The police chief noted that the arrest of suspected terrorists had nothing to do with the general elections scheduled on April 17, 2019.
Indonesia has become the target of attacks by terrorists since 2000, and the spread of radicalism and terrorism continues to threaten the country.
Antara noted that in May 2018, a church in the East Java city of Surabaya was attacked. Three years ago, ISIS supporters in Indonesia launched a suicide bombing and shooting attack in Jakarta on Jan 14, 2016, which led to the death of eight people, including three innocent civilians.
The incident has been added to the list of deadly assaults carried out by terrorist cells in Indonesia. From 2000 to 2012, more than a dozen attacks have taken place in the capital city, including the Australian embassy bombing on Sept 9, 2004, and the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings on July 17, 2009.
One of the best ways to free Indonesia from the vicious circle of radicalism and terrorism is by empowering women in the country, as they can actively contribute to the rescue of Indonesian children from being misled by terrorist recruiters.
Reporting by Juraidi, Jason, Rahmad Nasution, Suharto
Related news: Three suspected terrorists arrested in North Sumatra's Sibolga
Related news: Suspected terrorists in Sibolga, Lampung, affiliated to ISIS
Related news: Terror suspect's wife in Sibolga detonates herself with two children
Translator: Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
