By : Bustaman al Rauf, Strategic Surprises Observer. Lives in Aceh

Civil servants working in Arjuna subdistrict office in Cicendo, Bandung, West Java, have recounted the terror they endured when a suspected terrorist entered their building and threatened them with a knife and set fire to the second floor of the building on Monday. The man earlier left an improvised explosive device inside a cooking pot in the nearby Pandawa Park although no casualties were caused by the subsequent explosion. After the explosion, he ran inside the subdistrict office. The suspect uttered threats and also demanded the subdistrict head. Some male civil servants tried to persuade the suspect to turn himself in but his only response was to hurl down chairs from the second floor. He also pull off curtains and started a fire.

The police deployed two armed squads to neutralize the suspect, they fired tear gas and then shot him. The suspect was severely wounded, said the police, and was dead on arrival at the hospital.

The suspect who left an improvised explosive device in a cooking pot at a public park in Bandung on Monday was identified by police as Yayat Cahdiyat, a recidivist of a terrorism case as he was previously charged for being involved in military-style training with militants in Aceh. “He undertook military-style training in Aceh and took part in other activities in relation to the training. He was sentenced to three years in prison in 2012,” National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said Monday.

The preliminary investigation showed that Yayat was a member of Jamaah Anshar Daulah (JAD) in Bandung. JAD allegedly has connections with the Islamic State radical movement in Iraq and Syria. The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has called JAD “the most dangerous terrorist organization in the country.” Martinus said Yayat was a member of a group led by Ujang Kusnanang, aka Rian or Ujang Pincang. Ujang, a convicted terrorist, also had been involved with the training in Aceh.

The police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad was investigating the possibility of more suspects being involved in the case because a witness saw Yayat on a motorcycle with another person. The police have yet to find a motive.

Yayat, who died en route to hospital, was also known as Dani or Abu Salam. He was born in Purwakarta regency in West Java on June 24, 1975.

Meanwhile, the neighbors of a suspected terrorist, Yayat Cahdiyat, knew him as a nice person who hawked hair accessories and small toys at several schools in Cianjur, West Java.

Yayat allegedly set off an improvised explosive device hidden in a cooking pot in a public park in the West Java capital of Bandung on Monday before running into a subdistrict office building and attempting to burn it down. The police shot him and he died en route to the hospital.

While renting a house in Cianjur, Yayat often chatted with his landowner, Didih, 58. He rented the house for Rp 200,000 (US$14.90) a month. He told Didih he was fired from a factory in Bandung and then he tried various enterprises, including washing motorcycles and selling chicken noodles. We knew him as a hawker of hair accessories like hair pins, decorated pencils and toys. He sold his wares near schools in Cilaku district, but last week he moved to Karang Tengah district because he had slow business in Cilaku,” Didih said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Didih said Yayat had a wife and three children. He said he was surprised to learn that Yayat was a suspected terrorist because he did not notice any suspicious activities or behavior. Didih said Yayat never received any guests.

Is a Terror Groups Back?

            Yayat Cahdiyat who had been launched attacks to subdistrict offices in Badung as “a lone wolf” attackers. However, the massive operations which has been doing by National Police, BNPT and several an intelligence apparatus could be erased a terror’s groups capability to lauch their deadly attacks, because BIN, BNPT, Police and Indonesian Military has been closing whatever and wherever any possibility and any chances for a terror’s groups to launch their attacks. I think after Yayat’s attacks, it wouldn’t be created “a gap security” because a number of a terror’s group member has significantly been decreased since their last attacks in Jakarta last year.

            However, Yayat’s terror attacks had shown that a ramnants terror’s member has been launched their attacks without a seriously plan and some accidents had been done by a lone wolf. This mean is a terror’s group has been difficult to recruit their new member’s and using social media as their tools recruiting an innocent people to be their members doesn’t more effectively, because the government apparatus has been doing, implementing and disseminating their propaganda  through  a national and local print newspaper and online newsportal including social media which invited a people to be alert on a terror’s group recruitment.

            Besides that the Indonesian government has offensively been monitored social media misuse and they have a plan to implement a social media accounts sertification for creating a good attitude using social media in a healthy and smart specially to our youth generations.

            Despite all of this efforts, Bandung’s terror bomd attack had been shown that a small groups terror is still exisist in several districts, mayoralty and provinces in Indonesia. Furthermore, they can launch their new attacks wherever and whenever, so that the capability of an intelligence apparatus who comes from National Polices, Military, BNPT and last but not least BIN to plant their best agents in a terror’s group will be significantly to erase and to earlier know about a terror’s group plan, who is a fundraiser and fund supplier for them and what their motive to launch attacks. Without “a planted agent” in the main of a terror’s circles, security personel and an intelligence agency have been failed to detect a terror’s group next threats. I think it is a crucial point which we must be solved, because if we are failure to solve this, it makes “a strategic surprises” will be done by a terror’s group couldn’t be detected earlier. On others word, Bandung’s terror bomb is reflected the failure of a security and an intelligence apparatus to detect a terror’s groups activities because they didn’t have “ a planted agent” or “a number one information” regarding a terror threat.