Two suspected terrorists, who police said are father and son and might have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, were recently arrested in Bali鈥檚 Jembrana regency. Authorities say the father has a close relationship with Abu Rara, another suspected terrorist who allegedly attacked Indonesia鈥檚 chief security minister Wiranto last week in Banten province.听
Police said that the suspected terrorists, identified as 45-year-old AT and his 14-year-old son ZAI, were arrested on Oct. 10. , which are suspected to have been part of an attack plotted for Bali.听
鈥淎T had prepared arrows, airsoft gun, and bayonets, which we suspect were going to be used for amaliyah in Bali,鈥 Bali Police spokesman, Hengky Widjaja, said on Saturday, as quoted by Detik.听
Amaliyah is a term jihadists use to refer to field action. In addition, police reportedly said AT and ZAI had planned on resisting arrest and throwing away their phones and laptops in water should they face authorities at any point. The two had reportedly been living in East Denpasar prior to the arrest.听听
Information on the arrest was publicly released on Saturday, which also marked the 17th anniversary of the Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people.听
As reported by Kompas.com, , also known as Abu Rara, who were one of the two IS-linked suspects arrested last week for allegedly stabbing Wiranto.
AT, just like Abu Rara, was a member of a WhatsApp group called 鈥Menanti Al Mahdi,鈥 which police said consisted of extremists. Police also suspect that AT was aware of the plan to stab Wiranto.听
The Densus 88 counterterrorism squad and Bali Police鈥檚 transnational and organized crime (CTOC) task force are reportedly conducting further investigation on both AT and ZAI.听
Meanwhile, , including in Jembrana regency鈥檚 Gilimanuk port and Karangasem regency鈥檚 Padangbai port, as a precaution to limit any possible movement of terrorists on the island.
