Three Indonesian nationals, who were deported from Syria, have been detained by the National Police for allegedly joining militants in the war-torn country. "It is true that three Indonesian citizens have been arrested for allegedly going to Syria [to fight with militants]," National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said, according to Antara news agency.
The three detained men have been identified as Tomi Gunawan, Jang Johana and Irfan. The 18-year-old Gunawan is a resident of Pekanbaru in Riau, while Johana, 25, is from Bandung, West Java. Irfan is known to be from Jakarta.
Rikwanto said all the three suspects were arrested in Syria on Dec. 5 for allegedly joining militants fighting the Syrian government. However, all the three suspects claimed that they did not know each other.
On Saturday, the National Police's Densus 88 counterterrorism squad arrested the three men when they arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Banten, Tangerang. The three suspects were directly taken to the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java, for interrogation.
