Jakarta: Indonesia`s anti-terrorism forces killed two suspected militants in a predawn raid in Central Java on Saturday, a police spokesman said.
A nearby rice vendor was killed in crossfire during the raid early in the day in Sukoharjo district, said national police spokesman Colonel Boy Rafli Amar.
He identified the suspects as Sigit Qurdowi, a leader of a local militant group called Hisbah, and his bodyguard, Hendro.
Amar says the two suspects are among fugitives wanted for a church attack in Central Java last year. He says they are also believed to have links to a terrorist network in the West Java district of Cirebon.
"They have planned attacks against police," Amar said, adding that the two resisted arrest.
A number of terrorist suspects have been arrested following a suicide bombing last month at a mosque in Cirebon that wounded 30 people, mostly policemen.
Indonesia, the world`s most populous Muslim nation, has been battling extremists since 2002 when al Qaeda-linked militants attacked two nightclubs on Bali island, killing 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.
Saturday`s raid came two days after the arrest of four other suspects in nearby district of Solo.
Police confiscated a number of firearms, grenades and more than 500 bullets, in both the arrests and latest raid.
Brig Gen Untung Yoga Ana said the rice vendor, Nur Iman, was believed to be hit by a gunshot fired by Qurdowi on Saturday.
Bureau Report
