Indonesia strengthens security ahead of Christmas

The Indonesian national police gears up for tightening security during Christmas and New Year Eve partly due to possible terrorist threat during the events, National Police chief General Sutarman said here on Friday. The general disclosed as many as 92,000 policemen, 16,982 personal of armed forces and 35,473 security guards from government offices or institutions would be dispatched during this time. The police chief said that the precaution against terrorist threat has been one of the top priorities during the events. The hike of supervision would be done for 10 days, before and after the events which involving mass gathering, the police chief said. "From December 23 to January 1, the police will hold an operation along with other stakeholders for 10 days," said Sutarman. The mass gathering during the Christmas and New Year Eve has been one of main targets of militant strikes in Indonesia. Hence, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has recently warned on possible attack from the group during the events. Militants have frequently targeted churches in their bomb attacks or suicide missions in recent years, killing dozens of people.