Australia warns of Christmas attacks in Indonesia
Source: Reuters
(Adds detail on security in Indonesia) CANBERRA, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Australia warned on Thursday of possible militant attacks in Indonesia over the Christmas and New Year period, mirroring a U.S. warning issued this week. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has in recent years been hit by a series of bomb blasts blamed on Islamic militants. "There is a credible threat of terrorist attack in Indonesia during the Christmas and New Year period," Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs warned citizens in a travel security warning. "Large gatherings of people over the holiday season may be appealing targets for terrorists." Most attacks against Western targets have taken place in the capital, Jakarta, and on the resort island of Bali, where 92 Australians died in two separate bombings in 2002 and 2005. "Terrorist attacks against Westerners in Bali and Jakarta indicate that these areas are a priority target for terrorists in Indonesia," the Australian warning said. Indonesian police said security would be tighter, especially in Jakarta and Bali, following the Australian and U.S. warnings. Jakarta plans to deploy about 18,000 police and 2,000 soldiers across the capital and its outskirts, Komang Udayana, a senior police official, said. "We don't expect to have any threat reports. However, we will be on guard at all times. We will increase our security. We will focus on Christmas celebrations in churches and New Year's eve," Udayana told Reuters. Police said they were on alert in Bali. "We will always be on alert, and protect special places like temples, holiday resorts, airports and ports (in Bali)," national police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto said. More than 190 militants have been convicted in connection with violent attacks and five sentenced to death, the head of Indonesia's counter-terrorism desk said earlier this month. Around 85 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslim. The vast majority are moderates but there is an active militant minority. Indonesia has been relatively calm in recent months and there has not been a major attack since a second set of suicide attacks in Bali in October, 2005. But security analysts say the threat of militant attacks is still high because police have yet to catch one of the alleged masterminds of previous bombings, Malaysian-born Noordin Top. Police last year killed Azahari Husin, an alleged leader of the Jemaah Islamiah regional network, in a shootout in Indonesia's East Java province. (Additional reporting by Mita Valina Liem in Jakarta)
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