JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Two teenaged terrorist suspects were killed by security forces in an ambush, police told local media Saturday (September 1st). The shootout also left one police officer dead.
"Two terror suspects were killed in Solo, central Java, on Friday night by the anti-terror police unit Detachment 88. One other was arrested," National Police spokesman Brig. General Boy Rafli Amar told reporters.
Detachment 88 has led a successful crackdown on militant groups over the last decade, but has been criticised for using excessive force and targeting separatists and pro-independence activists.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the men, believed to be responsible for several shootings in Solo, were shot outside a minimart in Ngruki village, considered a hotbed of militant activity.
The Jakarta Post reported that both boys, 19, had attended the Al-Mukmin (Ngruki) Islamic boarding school in Sukoharjo, Central Java.
School director Wahyuddin said: "Although the two were of same age, they never met at the school. They attended different classes in different years."
Wahyuddin added that the pair's alleged involvement in three shootings that targeted police posts in Surakarta last month had nothing to do with the school's teachings.
A handwritten note found on one of the teens claimed responsibility for the attacks and explained they were avenging the detainment of other members, Kompas reported.
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