Indonesian police arrest 15 terrorist suspects in Central Sulawesi

Indonesian police have arrested 15 suspects of terrorist acts in Central Sulawesi province, said a police spokesman on Wednesday.

The suspects were from two groups, namely, Tanah Runtuh group and Kompak Kamaya group, which have long been involved in terrorist acts in the district of Poso and Palu, the capital of the province, said Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam.

Most of the suspects were arrested in the mid of 2006, some in December last year, Anton told Xinhua.

Seven members of Tanah Runtuh group have been implicated on terrorist acts since 2001, including the bombing of the Immanuel Church in Palu in 2004, the killing of a journalist in 2001.

The rest from Kompak group all were arrested in May 2006, he said.

"The motives of their engagement are revenge, robbery for their organization," said Anton.

Scores of blasts hit Poso last month, but no casualty was reported.

Indonesian police sent over 300 more personnel to the district on Sunday, bringing the total number of additional policemen to more than 800, spokesman of the Central Sulawesi province police Muhammad Kilat told Xinhua by telephone from the province.

Sectarian clashes between Muslims and Christians raged in Central Sulawesi province from 1998 to 2000, that killed more than 2,000 people before the peace accord achieved in 2001.

Over 87 percent of Indonesia's 240 million population are Muslims. But in the country's east, including the Central Sulawesi province, the proportion of Muslims and Christians is equal.

Source: Xinhua