Indonesia flexes muscles to fight terrorist threats ahead of Christmas

Indonesia is escalating its efforts to cope with attack threats from Islamic State (IS) supporters and terror group operatives who remain active in several parts of the nation ahead of Christmas.

Indonesian police made several arrests against alleged IS supporters in East and Central Java towns of Mojokerto and Sukoharjo, dismantling alleged hideouts of terrorist group led by Santoso who actively made sporadic attacks around Central Sulawesi capital of Poso.

Upon the arrests against IS supporters in Mojokerto and Sukoharjo on Saturday, Indonesian Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti said they obtained information from the United States and Australian intelligence services, saying there were indications of IS supporters' movements planning to launch attacks in several locations in the country.

"So we arrested them, preventing them (from carrying out the attacks)," Badrodin said in his office on Sunday. He said some of those arrested in the two cities have previous record of joining the IS in Syria and Iraq. The rest were those assisting them to materialize their plans.

The arrests in Mojokerto were done in two different houses, in Empunala and Trowulan neighborhoods. Police arrested six in Empunala neighborhood, comprised of adult men and women and children. Another one was arrested in Trowulan neighborhood, following the arrest in Empunala.

Police's anti-terror squad, 88 Special Detachment (Densus 88), confiscated fertilizer powder of Urea, electric switching devices, bullets, machetes, paraffin, books about assembling bombs and maps of the capital city and its outskirt areas of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi from the raided house in Empunala.

Meanwhile, in the other house in Trowulan neighborhood, police confiscated books that promote jihad and forged citizenship documents, a set of fake stamps, cellular phones and SIM cards and machetes.

In Sukoharjo, the Densus 88 members arrested one person who concealed several items that looked more like the ones found in one of the raided house in Mojokerto.

"We don't know which terrorist organization Budianto had joined in. The Densus 88 knows him better. There are 25 items found in his house during the raid," Sukoharjo Police Chief Andy Rifai said on Saturday, referring to the name of the arrested one.

In different developments, Indonesian Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti said police managed to find the hideouts of terrorist group led by Santoso in Central Sulawesi province.

"There were ten huts they used as their houses in the mountain. We found five bombs, kitchen utensils and other things there," Badrodin said on Monday without conveying further details regarding the finding.

He added that police also found decomposed body of an adult man in the vicinity of those huts.

According to Badrodin, they managed to escape into the woods in the mountain before the finding.

Indonesian police have imposed standby alert status regarding terror threats prior to the Christmas eve this year.

Indonesia saw a series of attacks occur in worship places during Christmas eve celebration in the last dozen of years, killing dozens of people and damaging the worship places. Indonesia has applied maximum safeguarding measures in churches since. Endit