Three families were behind the ISIS-inspired bombings in Indonesia's Surabaya, police said
Tito Karnavian, Indonesia's top-ranking police officer, told reporters Monday that police were working on the assumption that the attacks followed a directive from ISIS Central Command to avenge the imprisonment of the former leaders of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an Indonesian jihadi group that supports ISIS.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has struggled in recent months with a rise in Islamist militancy, which has come as ISIS has been squeezed out of its heartland in Syria and Iraq.
Karnavian also told reporters Monday that none of the families involved in the attacks had recently traveled to Syria, but Oepriarto had close links with someone who had recently returned from Syria who may have inspired him to carry out the attacks.
"These attacks are the nightmare scenario that's been anticipated since Indonesians affiliated with ISIS have returned from the Middle East," said Greg Barton, Chair in Global Islamic Politics at Deakin University in Australia.
Families linked
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Oepriarto's father said his son was close friends with the man involved in the explosion in the suburb of Sidoarjo on Sunday evening.
"He's never spoken about it, but I know my son is close friends with Anton," Raden Doddy Oesodo said, referring to the man who died in the affordable housing complex in Sidoarjo after a bomb detonated prematurely.
"Anton was my son's buddy in high school. Anton is my son's junior within the JAD organization. My son, his wife and Anton were part of the same JAD membership," he said, adding that his son was introduced to JAD in high school.
Oesodo described Oepriarto as "reclusive" and "private," but said he never spoke about martyrdom or traveling to Syria. "I've never heard him talk about jihad, but my son often disagrees with government policies."
Sitting in his home, Oesodo held a family photo of Oepriarto and his three other children and spoke about his love for his family.
"I love my grandchildren very much. They died because of their father's ideology," Oesodo said.
"I want to apologize to Surabaya residents who have become a victim due to my son's actions. I apologize from deep within my heart, especially to those who died because of him."
