"I have ordered all TNI personnel to intensify security, including in churches and other national vital objects. The security increase would be conducted through joint patrols and the establishment of tactical command posts," TNI Commander, Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, said at the TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta on Thursday.
The TNI and the Indonesian Police have established joint patrol and tactical command posts in some locations, he added.
The move, he said, is in response to President Joko Widodo's orders to not give a place to terrorism in Indonesia.
"President Joko Widodo has ordered me, Indonesian Police chief, Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Budi Gunawan, to increase alertness and give the public the confidence and safety to carry out their activities," he informed.
Earlier in the day, Widodo had appealed to people to remain calm following the attack on the National Police Headquarters on Wednesday (March 31, 2021).
On Wednesday afternoon, a woman, identified as Z, reportedly entered the National Police HQ complex and started shooting at security personnel. The gunfight between the armed attacker and officers ended after she was shot. She later succumbed to her injuries. Police have described it as a lone wolf attack, saying Z was a sympathizer of the terrorist group ISIS.
Earlier this week, two suicide bombers, believed to be a married couple, blew themselves up outside the church located on Kajaolalido Road in the Baru neighborhood area of Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, about 10:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.
The two bombers had tried to enter the church compound around the time the Palm Sunday Mass service ended, but security guards had stopped them at the gate.
At least 20 people, including churchgoers and the church's security guards, were injured in the blast.
The suicide bombers, who reportedly belong to a JAD network, carried out the attack using a pressure cooker bomb. (INE)
Related news: 13 suspected terrorists nabbed after Makassar suicide bombing: police
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Syaiful Hakim, Sri Haryati
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
