Indonesian Minister for Security Wiranto was seriously injured on Thursday by two attackers linked to the Islamic State (IS) group, according to the authorities, in an unprecedented assault on one of the most powerful men in the country. The 72-year-old former general was attacked by a knife-wielding man who inflicted two serious wounds on him, and by a woman after a visit to a university in Pandeglang, west of the island. Java.
"We were able to determine that the attackers are members of the organization Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD)," linked to the Islamic State (IS) group told reporters the chief intelligence officer Budi Gunawan.
An attack a week after the inauguration ceremony of the re-elected Indonesian president
"These groups are trying to create a destabilization," he accused. The perpetrators of the attack were identified as Syahril Alamsyah, a 31-year-old man and Fitri Andriana, a 21-year-old woman, who form a married couple according to local media reports. Wiranto, who like many Indonesians has only one name, was transferred to a military hospital in Jakarta by helicopter. "Mr Wiranto is aware but must undergo surgery," said President Joko Widodo, asking Indonesians for their help "to fight together against radicalism and terrorism."
The attack comes a week before the inauguration ceremony of the Indonesian president reelected in April for a second term as head of the largest Muslim country in the world. Three other people, a local police chief and two aides, were wounded in the attack but less seriously. According to Madrohim, a witness to the attack, the young woman involved in the attack was covered with a dark niqab covering her face. "When the car (from Wiranto) stopped, there were people who formed a circle, who protected him". "But a man snuck into the circle and hit Wiranto with a knife, the woman also tried, he was arrested, and the woman fought with the police," said the witness to a journalist. AFP. The attackers were rushed to the ground by police after the attack, according to images broadcast by the television channels. Then they were arrested and interrogated.