by TIME staff

December 14, 2016

 

An Islamist cell on the Indonesia island of Java successfully radicalized a domestic helper who had worked in Singapore and Taiwan, and convinced her to attempt a suicide bomb attack on the offices of Indonesia’s President. That’s according to an interview given by the 27-year-old helper on Indonesian television Tuesday, cited in the Straits Times.

Dian Yulia Novi was arrested with six accomplices at the weekend, accused of plotting to detonate a massive bomb at the presidential palace in Jakarta. She is the first would-be female suicide bomber arrested in Indonesia.

Her interview with Indonesia’s TVOne news channel took place while in police custody. During the interview, Dian, an Indonesian national, said she had been working as a domestic helper for a family in Singapore for 18 months and looked after three young children. She reportedly admired and was “inspired” by jihadist profiles on Facebook before being introduced to the members of a terrorist cell based in the central Javanese city of Solo.

 

Full article:

Islamist Terrorists Are Now Targeting Asia’s Domestic Helpers as Recruits for Suicide Missions