Terrorists threatened S’pore embassy in Jakarta

Indonesian officials said on Wednesday that a group of 11 recently-arrested terrorist suspects were threatening to attack Singaporeans exiting the country's embassy in Jakarta.

However, no concrete embassy attack plans had been found, said Ansyaad Mbai, the chief of the Indonesian National Anti-Terror Agency (BNPT).

"We did not find any proof of surveys or maps," he said in an interview, noting that embassies have always been conventional targets. "It was just a threat."

The 11 suspects were captured in Java about two weeks ago, and are thought to be members of a terror cell network led by 41-year-old Abu Umar alias Zulfikar, a known extremist.

Weapons including pistols, rifles, silencers and at least one sub-machine gun were found with them, alongside their accompanying ammunition.

BNPT deputy Brigadier-General Petrus Golose told The Straits Times more details of the group's intended plans, saying that they were set on attacking only Singaporeans making their way out of the compound, not Indonesians. He also mentioned that the men wanted to target local policemen, although he said the agency was not aware of when the attacks were planned for.

He also said that Singapore was singled out because of its close links to Israel.

"They consider Singapore (to be an) enemy," he added, also revealing that the embassy was the only diplomatic target mentioned by the group of suspects.

This isn't the first time Indonesia has uncovered plots against Singapore. Last year, investigators found a map of Singapore's MRT system in a suspect's home, with Orchard MRT station circled on it. Officials then said that Singapore was a target for Indonesian radicals.