ISIS threaten to attack world’s largest Buddhist temple

The police in Central Java have tightened security measures at the Borobudur Temple in Magelang in response to an apparent threat made by Islamic State of Iraq and the Syria (ISIS) supporters to attack the world-renowned cultural heritage site.

National Police spokesman Ronny F. Sompie said on Friday that aside from tightening security around Borobudur, the Central Java Police had begun poring over data from the Internet for possible clues about the plan.

“The Central Java Police chief has ordered an investigation into the threat and we expect that there will be cooperation with the temple’s security personnel and the Indonesian Military (TNI) to safeguard the temple from any possible damage,” he said in Jakarta.

The threat to attack Borobudur appeared first on social networking platform Facebook on Aug 15 in an account titled “We Are Islamic State”. “God willing, (Borobudur) will be demolished by Islamic caliphate mujahidin!” the web page declared.

It also quoted an article from a radical website, in which cleric Hartono Ahmad Jaiz derided several statue-construction projects in the country, which he said contravened Islamic principles.

It appears unlikely, however, that the website or Hartono are involved in the planning of a possible attack on Borobudur, as the website is known for its strong opposition to the ISIS movement. - straitstimes