Indonesian police kill three suspects in gunfight after bombs found

Indonesian anti-terrorism police killed three suspects after a gunfight on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta, on Wednesday and foiled a suicide bomb plot, a police spokesman said.

The raid is the latest in a series over recent weeks that police say have disrupted bomb plots, raising concerns that homegrown militants in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation are getting bolder in their attempts to launch attacks.

Police said earlier this week that at least 14 people were being interrogated over suicide bomb plots targeting the presidential palace in Jakarta and an undisclosed location outside Java island. Both involved a female suicide bomber – a new tactic for Indonesian militants.

After Wednesday’s raid, police said the suspects, who authorities believe are supporters of the Islamic State militant group, had planned to stab officers at a traffic post, and then detonate a “large, homemade” bomb as crowds gathered.