War On Christmas: Terrorism Investigation In Indonesia Sees Planned Holiday Attack Stopped By Police After Three Suspects Killed

Three alleged terrorists in Indonesia were killed by the police after authorities uncovered a terror attack plot that would have taken place over Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve. After being confronted by Indonesian police’s anti-terror squad and refusing to surrender, all three men were killed in a gunfight, ABC News reported Wednesday.

The three militants were killed in a compound in Tangerang, a city in Banten, Indonesia, just west of the capital of Jakarta. The suspected terrorists had planned a suicide bombing over the holiday, to detonate potassium nitrate “low-explosive bombs,” according to police. Five of the bombs were found within the compound and were being defused by a squad, following the gunfight. Jakarta police chief Mochamad Iriawan said the men were planning on stabbing police officers to attract a crowd and then trigger the bombs.

Police became aware of the plot after interrogating other militants who were planning on carrying out a similar attack and were apprehended and arrested Dec. 10, according to the Guardian. They had planned on carrying out a suicide bombing of their own during a guard-changing ceremony at the presidential palace. The attack was set to take place the day following the planned holiday attacks, police learned. All suspects are believed to have been linked and were reportedly tied to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The Christmas and New Year’s holiday events draw terrorist threats every year, according to authorities. “Every year, Christmas and New Year’s events are the target of terrorists to carry out amaliyah,” National Police spokesman Rikwanto said at a news conference, referencing a name commonly used to describe “suicide bombings in armed group circles,” according to Aljazeera.

Earlier in the week, around 14 suspects were questioned over the planned suicide bombing near the palace in Jakarta, as well as a suspected terrorist threat that was reportedly planned on Java island, Aljazeera reported.