A common endeavor by all people is necessary to raise awareness of the fact that conducting a suicide attack is not a way to gain access to heaven, Karnavian told attendees of the 9th National Convention of National Education in Padang on Thursday.
"According to the suicide bomber's husband, his wife is more radical than he is. She has even been able to make bombs," General Karnavian revealed.
Quoting the confession of Husein, alias Abu Hamzah, Solimah's husband, Karnavian said she learnt how to make bombs from the Internet. They were like lone wolves, who independently found ways to get their targets.
They might not have a large network, but they had broadened their knowledge through radical groups' websites, he noted, adding that the police was able to uncover the Sibolga-based terrorist cell after the arrest of a woman in Lampung Province.
The woman confessed to police investigators of having a friend, who had also made bombs in Sibolga, the capital city of Central Tapanuli District, North Sumatra Province, he remarked.
This information was then followed up by the police's anti-terror squad to arrest Husein.
On the day he was apprehended, Husein resisted the police's attempts to gain entry into his house, as his wife and children were inside, and Solimah had installed wires around the house. "There are eight bombs inside. Three of them exploded and hit a policeman," he stated.
Meanwhile, North Sumatra Police Chief, Inspector General Agus Andrianto, revealed earlier that Solimah had blown herself up inside her house on early Wednesday, thereby resulting in her body being partly destroyed.
Her mangled body parts were found some 70 meters from the crime scene. The police's Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) team members then worked to ensure that all her body parts were cleared from the area.
On Thursday morning, the remains of homemade bombs, still found inside the terror suspect's house, were destroyed in the backyard of the Central Tapanuli police precinct.
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 had launched a suicide bombing and shooting attack in Jakarta on January 14, 2016, which led to the deaths of eight people, including three innocent civilians.
The incident adds to the list of deadly assaults conducted by terrorist cells in Indonesia. From 2000 to 2012, more than a dozen attacks took place in the capital city, including the Australian embassy bombing on September 9, 2004, and the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings on July 17, 2009.
One of the effective 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 safeguarding Indonesian children from being indoctrinated by terrorist recruiters.
Reporting by Mario Sofia Nasution, Rahmad Nasution
Related news: Suicide bomber identified as Solimah: N Sumatra Police Chief
Related news: Suspected terrorists in Sibolga, Lampung, affiliated to ISIS
Reporter: Mario Sofia Nasution, Rahmad N
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
