Indonesia arrests man linked to attack in Marawi City

This photograph taken on June 6, 2017 shows Indonesian police conducting a house raid in Cileunyi, Bandung, West Java province, where they arrested two suspects and seized evidence.
Indonesian police on June 7 arrested two suspected militants accused of giving instructions to two suicide bombers who attacked a Jakarta bus terminal last month, killing three police officers, officials said. / AFP PHOTO / TIMUR MATAHARI

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian police said Thursday they have arrested a man on suspicion of helping Indonesians to join Islamic militants who overran a city in the southern Philippines and two others who allegedly helped inspire a double suicide bombing in Jakarta.

National police spokesman Martinus Sitompul said a man arrested Tuesday in the city of Yogyakarta in Central Java is suspected of facilitating Indonesians to travel to Mindanao where they joined Islamic State group-affiliated militants who still occupy parts of Marawi more than two weeks after their initial attack.

Police only gave the man’s initials and said four of those he helped are currently sought by Philippine authorities.

West Java police spokesman Yusri Yunus said two other men were captured Wednesday in the city of Bandung on suspicion of involvement in suicide bombings on May 24 that killed three policemen and the two suicide bombers.

The audacious attack on Marawi, and the participation of foreign fighters, have been a wakeup call for Southeast Asian governments about the potential of the southern Philippine region to become a magnet for Islamic State group sympathizers as it loses territory it controlled in Syria and Iraq.

The militants in Marawi are believed by Philippine authorities to still be holding a Catholic priest and many other hostages.

The Philippine military says those killed since the fighting broke out on May 23 include 20 civilians, 134 militants and 39 government troops. More than 1,500 civilians have been rescued./rga