http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/police-end-siege-of-barricaded-islamic-school/452794
Police End Siege of Barricaded Islamic School Farouk Arnaz & Fitri | July 14, 2011 Police finally managed to enter and investigate an Islamic boarding school in Bima, Sumbawa island on Wednesday, two days after a bomb blast killed one man, an officer said. National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Ketut Untung Yoga said his officers entered the Umar bin Khatab boarding school on Wednesday evening without resorting to force or opening fire. "We've searched and conducted an investigation at the scene of the crime. Regarding what evidence we obtained, we will tell the press on Thursday," Untung said. The blast, which police said they believed was caused by a homemade bomb, exploded in a room at the boarding school on Monday afternoon, killing school treasurer Firdaus. But the school's management, its students and some local residents, many of them reportedly armed with swords and possibly other weapons, barred the police from entering the school compound. Four platoons from the local Mobile Brigade police (Brimob) police and the anti-riot squad, as well as additional forces from the Indonesian Armed Forces, surrounded the school, where 45 students armed with sticks and machetes, as well as teachers and an unknown number of supporters were holed up. Confusion on whether force was used by the police followed a statement earlier on Wednesday by National Police spokesman Inspector General Anton Bachrul Alam. At the time, he said the police at the scene had opened fire on a group of students who were hurling stones at them. The police suffered minor injures and three students were wounded when they retaliated. Anton said the 13 people had been arrested, adding that they had all been arrested outside the school while they were on their way to burying the deceased. West Nusa Tenggara police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sukarman Husein said that police "are still using persuasive means to avoid casualties" and that no shots had been fired. National Police Operational Assistant Insp. Gen. Badrodin Haiti said that while "there is not a single piece of land in Indonesia that remain untouchable for our officers," police would always prefer a negotiated settlement to avoid bloodshed. Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali admitted that the boarding school had been problematic since it was established in 2004. Should anyone at the school be found belonging to a radical group, "then the boarding school must be closed down and its students provided with renewed guidance," he said. Son Hadi, a spokesman for the Jama'ah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), a hard-line group founded by convicted cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, acknowledged that the boarding school had links with his organization. Additional reporting from Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Made Arya Kencana. ++++ http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/alleged-philippine-trained-bomber-killed-in-islamic-school-blast/452479 Alleged Philippine-Trained Bomber Killed in Islamic School Blast July 12, 2011 An alleged Philippine-trained bomber was killed by a homemade explosive inside an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, police said on Tuesday. School officials and students have prevented police from entering the building since Monday's explosion, local police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sukarman Husen said. But they discovered the body of the suspected bomb-maker, a 30-year-old man identified only as Firdaus, on a bus on Tuesday as it tried to leave the school compound, he said. Eleven people have been taken in for questioning, Husen said, adding that police also confiscated a number of arrows and machetes. Husen said the bombing victim was a treasurer at the school, but media reports alleged he was a former bomb trainee in Mindanao. According to TVOne, he was killed in an unintentional explosion while training students about bomb-making. Police are still persuading the school officials to let them enter the compound, Husen said. National Police spokesman Maj. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said the explosion was suspected to be from a homemade bomb being prepared to attack the police. "Therefore they don't allow police to enter the boarding school," Alam told reporters in the capital, Jakarta. He added that two platoons, including soldiers, were around the complex. The school on Sumbawa Island came to police attention late last month, when a 16-year-old student was arrested for allegedly stabbing to death an officer. Police believe he belonged to an Islamic militant group, and they said he told his interrogators that police deserved to die for hunting down jihadists. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has been battling terrorists since 2002 when al-Qaida-linked militants attacked two nightclubs on Bali island, killing 202 people, mostly foreigners. In recent months, security forces have become the main target of extremists in Indonesia. Militants say they want to punish soldiers and police for taking part in the so-called war against terrorism. Hundreds of Islamic militants have been arrested, tried and jailed. Associated Press [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! 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