Indonesia police identify suspected ‘lone wolf’ Medan suicide bomber

Indonesian police said on Wednesday (Nov 13) they have identified the suspected suicide bomber who blew himself up outside police headquarters in Indonesia's city of Medan, wounding six people.

National police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said the suspect, who died at the scene, was identified with fingerprint results as a 24-year-old university student born in Medan who goes by the initials of RMM.

He is believed to have acted as a "lone wolf", though police were investigating whether he had links to any militant group.

"We are still investigating how much evidence has been found at the scene related to the explosive materials,” said Prasetyo. “So far, we found a battery with 9V, metal plate, lots of nails in various sizes, and some slice wires that we will investigate further.”

Also, there was a switch, some body parts that will help us to identify the perpetrator and check through its DNA. The result from fingerprinting will be supported by the result of the DNA test."

Prasetyo said four police officers and two civilians, one of whom was a police employee, had been wounded by the blast in a car park at Medan police headquarters shortly before 9am.

Kompas TV reported that many people were applying to get clearance letters from the police - a requirement to join the civil service which is currently open for admission.

Police officers stand guard at the gate of the local police headquarters in Medan

The attacker wore an explosive device on his body, but Prasetyo did not say what kind of bomb was used.

"All of the evidence that we found at the crime scene is still under investigation at the forensic lab, whether it's a high or low level of explosive," he said.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, has suffered a resurgence in homegrown militancy in recent years, with police regularly the target of attacks.

The government scrambled to tighten its anti-terrorism laws after a series of suicide bombings linked to the JAD group killed more than 30 people in the city of Surabaya last year.

In Singapore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement early on Thursday (Nov 14) condemning the "act of terror" in Medan.

MFA said there was no report of any Singaporean affected by the incident, and wished those who were injured a speedy and full recovery.