An Indonesian Islamic State group supporter was jailed for 10 years on Thursday for helping make a bomb used in a deadly attack in Jakarta, as the country faces an increase in IS-linked assaults.

Dodi Suridi, 23, was found guilty of committing an act of terror over his links to the attack in the Indonesian capital in January, which killed four assailants and four civilians and was claimed by IS.

A second IS supporter, 48-year-old Ali Hamka, was also jailed for four years over the attack for trying to find guns and ammunition to use in the assault.

The attack – the first claimed by IS in Southeast Asia – saw dramatic scenes as a suicide bomber blew himself up in a Starbucks and security forces battled gun-toting militants.

It was the first major attack in Indonesia for seven years.

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Asked whether he accepted the decision, Suridi was unrepentant and told the court: “That’s the risk of being a terrorist, I accept the verdict.” As court officials led him away, he yelled “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is greatest”, and flashed a smile at journalists.

The world’s most populous Muslim-majority country has long struggled with Islamic militancy and Indonesians have flocked to fight with IS.

Also on Thursday, police shot dead a man carrying knives, suspected pipe bombs and an IS symbol after he launched an attack on officers near Jakarta.

Other IS-linked incidents this year include a foiled plan to launch a rocket at an up-market Singapore waterfront district from an Indonesian island and a botched suicide attack on a police station, which killed only the assailant.

Analysts believe the January 14 assault was organised by a militant group led by a jailed pro-IS cleric.

Suridi, who was arrested a day after the attack, altered a gas canister to be used as a bomb.

The militant transported the canister and a casing for a pipe bomb to Jakarta, where he handed them to another man, who blew himself up as he attacked a police post during the assault.

Although Suridi, who pledged allegiance to IS in 2014, did not directly participate in the assault, presiding Judge Achmad Fauzi said his actions had “disturbed the community and shaken the life of our nation”.

Hamka, who was jailed by the same court, did not manage to find any weapons to pass to the attackers but was found guilty of breaking anti-terror laws.

A number of people have been arrested over suspected involvement in the incident.

The first conviction over the attack was in March when a 15-year-old boy was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention for harbouring a man allegedly linked to the attack.

Indonesian police shot dead a man carrying knives, suspected pipe bombs and a symbol of the Islamic State group after he launched a daylight assault on officers near Jakarta on Thursday, an official said.

The man was shot three times as he stabbed wildly at officers on a busy intersection in Tangerang, a satellite city outside the capital, Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono told AFP.

Setiyono said the perpetrator threw two suspected pipe bombs at the officers, but neither detonated, and displayed an IS symbol on a nearby traffic pole during the frenzied attack.

“A man suddenly stuck an IS logo sticker on a traffic police post, took a machete from his bag and blindly attacked our personnel,” he said.

The attacker – believed to be a member of a local hardline group – was also carrying a turban, along with knives and the suspected bombs, Setiyono added.

The 21-year-old attacker later died from his wounds, the spokesman said.

He said police investigating the case had discovered that two of the attacker’s brothers were police officers in Tangerang.

Three officers were injured and taken to hospital.

Police have often been the target of attacks by extremists in Indonesia, a country that has long struggled with Islamic militancy.

In January, police officers were targeted by gunmen and suicide bombers at a traffic post in central Jakarta. The IS-claimed attack left four civilians and four militants dead, and injured several police officers.

Police and military personnel have also been killed in clashes with extremists in a remote part of Sulawesi, where for years a ragtag militant group has been waging a conflict against security forces from their jungle hideout.

Indonesia suffered significant attacks in the 2000s including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.

A sustained crackdown weakened the most dangerous networks but IS has proved a potent new rallying cry for Indonesia’s radicals, stoking fears that militants fighting with the group could seek to organise attacks back home.

Police and protesters clash during a violent protest outside the US Embassy in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Oct 19, 2016.

A Philippine police van rammed into protesters, leaving several bloodied, as an anti-US rally turned violent Wednesday at the embassy in Manila. AP

Nine members of the Manila Police District (MPD) have been ordered relieved from their post following the anti-US rally that turned violent in front of the American embassy in Manila on Wednesday.

Nine officers-including PO3 Franklin Kho, the driver of the police van that rammed and run over some protesters-were removed from their posts, Chief Supt.

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Philippine police van runs over protesters

Source:

AFP

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Oscar Albayalde, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, said in a text message to INQUIRER.net on Thursday.

Senior Supt. Marcelino Pedrozo, the ground commander at the rally who allegedly ordered the violent dispersal, was also relieved.

Albayalde said he ordered their administrative relief “to pave the way for an impartial investigation on the incident.”