Intelligence Chief Denies Having Prior Knowledge on Terror Attack

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - A question was raised by the Indonesian general population relating to the growing speculation over other countries’ prior knowledge about Jakarta attacks on January 14 2016.

Suspicions grew following widespread of email sent by other countries embassies in Jakarta to their citizens currently in the Archipelago state, informing them that avoid areas where the incident had occurred in the early hours of Thursday.

Indonesian Intelligence Agency Chief Sutiyoso denied such widespread speculation and went to confirm that no one was aware of the undertaking of such action.

“What has been generally accepted by the population is wrong. Nobody knows about the attack,” he clarified on Friday 15 January 2016.

He further assures that it is true that nobody saw it coming as the agency is also aided by foreign intelligence that are currently being stationed here in Indonesia. This is a form of cooperation they have been doing for quite some time and therefore, Sutiyoso reassures population that it is not true and that if it is then other countries representatives would have yielded such information beforehand.

“We have three representatives from CIA here in Indonesia. So no that information is not true,” he continued clarifying.

According to him, his institution has been monitoring ISIL in Indonesia since November 2015 due to potentiality of attacks.

“Potential terrorist attacks have already been detected since November 2015. We have previously informed that around 100 combatants bound for Indonesia, as many as 432 ex- terrorist convicts have been set free and therefore a training conducted by the radical group was due to occur,” explained Sutiyoso.