Wednesday, September 11, 2024 - Suspects linked to ISIS plotted to attack Pope Francis during his trip to Indonesia, but were thwarted by their own online boasts, authorities say.
Last week, the Indonesian national police arrested
seven people suspected of planning attacks against the 87-year-old,
peace-preaching pontiff while he was in Jakarta as part of his Asia-Pacific
tour, officials say.
Police seized bows and arrows, a drone, and ISIS leaflets
during raids of the suspects’ homes on Sept. 2 and 3, police said in a
statement.
At least some of the plotters had “pledged allegiance to
ISIS,” an unnamed source told the Straits Times. One of them was in the same
ISIS-aligned terror cell that stabbed Indonesia’s chief security minister in
2019.
It remains unclear if all seven detainees were working
together, police said.
The wannabe attackers were apparently enraged over the
pope’s visit to the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, Istiqlal, and the fact
that the government urged local television stations not to interrupt the pope’s
televised Mass with the usual Islamic call to prayer, the Straits Times
reported.
The plotters seemed to have outed themselves online and been
sold out by acquaintances. Police said the suspects blasted threats and
propaganda on social media in the run-up to the pontiff’s visit. They also
threatened to start fires at certain locations.
“We have a mechanism to monitor and filter. We had tip-off
information from members of the public,” said Col. Aswin Siregar of the
national police anti-terror unit Detachment 88.
The pope had delivered a message of peace and tolerance
during his visit to Jakarta, the first stop on a 12-day Asia-Pacific tour that
also includes Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
Indonesian authorities ramped up protection for Il Papa
during his three-day visit, which ended Friday: On top of his own security
detail, the pope was protected by Indonesian police, snipers and soldiers, a
total force of around 4,000, Barron’s reported.
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