Bali beefs up security after terror raids

Police on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali stepped up security in tourist hotspots on Monday after five suspected terrorists were shot dead in raids. "We beefed up security in all places around Bali especially in strategic places like entertainment spots, hotels and malls. What’s clear, we are on alert,” Bali police spokesman Hariadi said. Indonesia has been rocked by a series of attacks staged by regional Jemaah Islamiyah in recent years, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people. Police said they gunned down on Sunday evening five people in two separate raids in Denpasar and Sanur area south of the island, which is popular among tourists for its exotic beaches. Over one hundred members of the elite Detachment 88 counter-terrorism force were seen in Sanur where three suspects were killed in a villa, a news correspondent said at the time. The men “planned to carry out an act of terrorism and several robberies” and are believed to be part of a group who killed an officer in a spectacular 2010 bank robbery to raise funds for terrorist attacks, police said. The men “are linked to previous terror investigations,” national police spokesman Saud Usman Nasution said. The 2002 Bali bombings thrust Indonesia into the front lines of the “war on terror”. Blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah, the blasts forced Jakarta to accept US and Australian help to train local counter-terror police. The underground network splintered under the pressure of arrests and killings, giving birth to even more radical offshoots and loosely affiliated elements that continue to undermine Indonesian security. “The suspects were raising funds for their terror activities and Bali is now their target to source for funds,” Saud said. In the raids, police seized two firearms and dozens of bullets from the suspects, who were planning to rob a moneychanger and a jewellery shop. Saud also said police “are not ruling out” the possibility that the group might launch an attack on the public holiday on Friday.