IS-aligned militant jailed over plot to bomb Indonesian presidential palace

JAKARTA – 20 September 2017: An Indonesian militant was jailed for 11 years on Wednesday for orchestrating a plot inspired by the Islamic State group to stage a suicide bomb attack on the presidential palace.

Muhammad Nur Solikin, 27, and his wife Dian Yuli Novi were among five jihadists detained last December over plans to attack the palace in Jakarta during a presidential guard-changing ceremony with a three-kilogram bomb encased in a pressure cooker.

The sentence was less than the 15 years which prosecutors had sought.

One of his co-inspirators Agus Supriyadi received six years' jail.

Last month Solikin's wife Novi was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail for her role in the plot.

She was the first woman to be convicted of planning a suicide bombing in Indonesia, highlighting the more active role women are taking in violent extremism.

Police believe the group was strongly linked to Bahrun Naim, a leading Indonesian militant currently fighting with Islamic State in Syria.

Indonesia, with the world's largest Muslim population, has long struggled with Islamic militancy and has suffered numerous attacks on its soil.

Many Indonesians have flocked to join IS in the Middle East, while radicals who have carried out attacks in the country have been linked to the jihadists.