Police in Indonesia detain 5 for trying to join Daesh

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia

Police detained five citizens from an airport in Bali on Tuesday night after they allegedly returned from Syria on charges of trying to join the Daesh terrorist group, a police official said Wednesday.

Bali Regional Police Spokesman Adjunct Commissioner Hengky Widjaya told Anadolu Agency the five suspects were arrested from Ngurah Rai Airport when they disembarked an Istanbul-Bali Emirates Airlines flight on Tuesday night.

Immigration officers made the arrests and handed them over to the police for further investigation.

"They were detained because they have the intention of joining ISIS [Daesh]," Widjaya said.

Indonesia is said to be on alert for at least 500 Indonesians who reportedly joined Daesh in Syria; dozens of them are suspected of gradually returning to their homes in the country.

On Saturday, police detained 17 citizens at an airport in Jakarta on similar suspicions of joining Daesh, but later released them on Tuesday when charges against the suspects could not be proved.

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia

Immigration officers made the arrests and handed them over to the police for further investigation.

"They were detained because they have the intention of joining ISIS [Daesh]," Widjaya said.

Indonesia is said to be on alert for at least 500 Indonesians who reportedly joined Daesh in Syria; dozens of them are suspected of gradually returning to their homes in the country.

On Saturday, police detained 17 citizens at an airport in Jakarta on similar suspicions of joining Daesh, but later released them on Tuesday when charges against the suspects could not be proved.