Indonesia arrests 11 terror suspects planning US embassy attack

Indonesian police on Saturday arrested 11 members of Hasmi group allegedly planning attacks on American diplomatic missions, a spokesman said. Hasmi is the short form of Harakah Sunny for Indonesia Community. The police said they are still investigation possible links between the new Hasmi group and older terrorist groups, Inspector General Suhardi Alius said on Saturday. The police anti-terror unit has arrested 11 terror suspects from Hasmi in four cities, including Solo in Central Java, Bogor in West Java, Madiun in East Java and Jakarta, according to the official Antara news agency. “The Hasmi group is a new group and we are still investigating its link with the old groups,” the head of the public relations division of the National Police Headquarters Inspector General Suhardi Alius, said. The group had planned to hit the US embassy and a US consulate, as well as a building near the Australian embassy in the capital Jakarta that houses the office of American mining giant Freeport-McMoran, police said. Indonesia has waged a long battle against terrorism since the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. The resort island held commemorations this month to mark 10 years since the attack.