REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN -- The police have detained 12 witnesses in connection with an attack on community service police personnel at the North Sumatra regional police headquarters in Medan early on Sunday morning that left one officer dead.

A joint team of anti-terror personnel from the national and North Sumatra headquarters had held the witnesses since Sunday evening, Senior Commissioner Rina Sari Ginting, head of the public relations department of the police headquarters, said here on Monday.

They are currently still being questioned intensively, she said.

"Of them, five need to be thoroughly investigated," she remarked.

Ginting stated that they were being interrogated to uncover their possible roles and connections in the attack, including surveying and mapping of the North Sumatra police headquarters before the act, books and videos for indoctrination of members as well as about ISIS, and methods used by their organization discovered during search at the homes of the attackers.

Based on the anti-terrorism law, the police have a week to conduct questioning to collect information before the suspects are announced.

Also read: Two men attack North Sumatra police headquarters

The joint team will conduct a day-to-day analysis and evaluation regarding the case to uncover their network, including on the communication equipment that was confiscated.

"Just pray for us, so that the team can finish its work fast," she said.

Based on the results of their investigation so far, the police have been able to identify the attackers by their initials as AR and SP. AR was killed, while SP was wounded.

According to witnesses and his family, SP went to Syria in 2013 and had stayed there for six months.

"After returning from Syria, SP kept communicating through the internet about spreading the ISIS ideology," she said.

At around 3 a.m. local time on Sunday, two unidentified persons attacked personnel of the community center at the North Sumatra regional police headquarters at the exit gate that resulted in the death of First Adjunct Inspector Martua Sigalingging.

One of the attackers was shot dead, while the other was wounded by on-duty members of the Mobile Brigade at the entry gate in their efforts to pacify them.

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