Indonesia on alert over militant's threat prior to Charismas, New Year Eve
Xinhua, December 8, 2015 Adjust font size:
Indonesia has boosted security as the country is to hold polls at provincial level nationwide on Wednesday and celebrate Christmas and New Year Eve, a minister said here on Tuesday.
The statement was made following the threats from the Islamic State group or IS to launch strikes globally, and militant group in Poso of Indonesia, known as Santoso group, to conduct similar acts in the country.
"The threat has been launched globally, Indonesia is one of the targets mentioned," Security Chief Minister Luhut Panjaitan said.
"We have anticipated it. There are many security guards at airports and other places that we considered as the target of the strikes," Minister Luhut said.
Wednesday's general election at provincial level across the country, which mass will gather to vote, will also be a target of the security, he disclosed.
"The president (Joko Widodo) has ordered to be cautioned on it," said Luhut.
About 600,000 soldiers and police will be deployed to secure the polls, Christmas and New Year Eve, according to the police chief and military commander.
"The threat of militant still exists. We can not ignore it. Therefore our alertness (and) the targets of police, military and intelligence are on the effort to anticipate such kind of thing," Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti said on Wednesday here.
Mr. Badrodin said that the police will deploy two third of the total strength, about 300,000 personals.
On the same occasion Military Commander General Gatot Nurmantyo also said that the military will also dispatch similar number of soldiers for the security.
Indonesian national police will cooperate with French intelligence to uncover networks of Islamic State (IS) militants who conducted attack in Paris recently as one of the attackers used to visit a boarding school in West Java of Indonesia and some other suspicious Frenchmen had visited Indonesia.
Indonesia has taken precaution against the threat of the IS group, including taking stern action against recruitment for the group, strengthening checking at the borders. Enditem