The police investigators could not yet reveal whether the bomb was a high explosive or low explosiveBandung, W Java (ANTARA) - The security at the Bandung city police headquarters was stepped up following a bombing attack on the city police headquarters in Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra Province, Wednesday morning. The main gate of the police compound was guarded tightly by the police officers who conducted thorough security checks on visitors wanting to apply for, for instance, police clearance letters (SKCK) and driving licenses.
Each of the visitors wearing jackets was ordered to release theirs, and to let their bags get checked by the on-duty police officers.
The regular services for the community members ran normally. On Wednesday, many residents who were keen to apply for civil servants came to the Bandung city police headquarters to get the police clearance letters.
On Wednesday morning, the police headquarters was attacked by a suspected suicide bomber, who also injured six people.
Regarding the incident, the Indonesian police investigators are still examining the bomb.
The police investigators could not yet reveal whether the bomb was a high explosive or low explosive, National Police Spokesman Inspector General Mohammad Iqbal said earlier.
The investigators involved in investigating the crime scene were from the National Police's Densus 88 counter-terrorism squad, the North Sumatra Police's Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (Inafis) unit and forensics units, he said.
The police investigators were also probing whether the suspected suicide bomber acted as a lone wolf or he belonged to a terrorist network, he said.
In March this year, Solimah, a housewife, detonated a home-made bomb inside her house in Sibolga, North Sumatra Province.
Indonesia has become the target of attacks by terrorists since 2000, and the spread of extremism 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. (INE)
Related news: Jakarta Police intensify security measures after Medan bombing
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Translator: Bagus AR, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
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