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Indonesian police have arrested seven people accused of planning an attack on Pope Francis during his recent visit to the country. supreme pontiff concluded his stay in that nation this Friday.
The arrests, carried out by the Densus-88 anti-terrorist unit, took place between Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 September in Bogor and Bekasi, areas near Jakarta.
During a search of one of the homes of the detainees, authorities seized bows, arrows, a drone and propaganda linked to the Islamic State. These findings point to the possibility that the suspects were planning an attack on Pope Francis.
However, it is still being investigated whether those arrested were part of the same terrorist cell or whether they acted independently.
The assassination attempt on the Pope was not carried out
Aswin Siregar, spokesman for the Densus-88 unit, said investigations were continuing and a clear connection between the detainees had not yet been established.
So far, the authorities have not revealed their identities and have only identified them by their initials. The preventive action of the specialized units meant that the attack on the Pope was not even carried out.
Pope Francis visited Indonesia from 3 to 6 September as part of his tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. During his stay in the country, the Pope called for peaceful coexistence between religions.
He also visited the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, the largest in Southeast Asia, where he and Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar called for religious unity and harmony.
After finishing his visit to Indonesia and navigating this attack, Pope Francis travelled to Papua New Guinea. This marks the second leg of his tour which will include visits to East Timor and Singapore.
Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, has seen a rise in the influence of radical groups. However, in recent years, the activity of these groups has declined thanks to the efforts of security forces, which even thwarted an assassination attempt on the Pope.