On 7 December 2022, at around 8:20 AM Western Indonesia Time (UTC+7), a suicide bombing incident occurred at an Indonesian National Police station in Astana Anyar District, Bandung, West Java.
[4] The attacker suddenly drew out a bladed weapon and charged towards the police, breaking into the ceremony before he blew himself up.
[8] Identification later found that the perpetrator is a Bandung local, known by the nom de guerre Abu Muslim bin Wahid.
They even revealed that the perpetrator was reclusive, to such an extent that they did not know he was married to a woman and had child sometime later, all without informing his family and without their knowledge.
[15] His grandfather said that his reclusiveness became prominent after he joined some Islamic discussion groups after his graduation from senior high school in 2006.
[16] According to the Police, he joined Darul Islam Areal Commandment VII (which was centered in the South Priangan region and operates across West Java) network but quit the organization after the JAD formed.
[18] Police General Listyo Sigit Prabowo revealed that the perpetrator was classified as "red status" from the National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) deradicalization program,[2] indicating that at the time he was released from the prison, he was still prone to being and capable of returning to his radicalist and extremist ways easily and still had some Islamic radicalism and Islamic extremism.
[27] The BNPT issued a statement which speculated that the perpetrator was likely driven by anti-police sentiment, and was likely affiliated to an ISIS network.
On the motorcycle, a statement written by the perpetrator was found, which stated his hatred of the Indonesian government and police.
In particular, he resented the newly passed 2022 Bill of Indonesian Criminal Code and branding the law as a "shirk and kafir"-made product.
As revealed by Soyan Tsauri, a former terrorist-turned-terrorist observer, the mark is known as secret communicating identity of a cell belonged to the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah.
[29] Al Chaidar, Malikussaleh University lecturer and Islamic terrorism expert, suspected the perpetrator came from the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah member.
[33] A dozen of handwritten protest pamphlets condemning the passage of the 2022 Indonesian Criminal Code authored by the perpetrator were discovered and secured by the police.
[41] One suspected accomplice of the perpetrator, which lived in one of the safehouse, found to be already checked out from his place 1 or 2 days before the attack and no longer returned to his place[42] On 21 December 2022, the Police announced that 26 people related to the incident had been arrested from 5 provinces: West Java, Central Java, Riau, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra.
[50] The road partially opened on the next day, but the police station remained inaccessible and blocked from the sight using zinc sheets and guarded with some Brimob members.
[53] The bombing incident happened 3 days before the Kaesang Pangarep, Joko Widodo younger son, marriage event.
Despite being far away from the incident location, Kaesang's older brother and Mayor of Surakarta, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, announced that the event would have a security layer increased as a preventive measure due to high-level and high-profile figures such as the President himself, Vice President, and other state officials will gather at the event.
[60] On 15 November 2024, a poison pen letter claimed to be written by Jamaah Ansharut Daulah was sent to Parahyangan Catholic University in attempt to terrorize the upcoming graduation ceremony.
[68] In revelation of the perpetrator's motive was to protest the recently passed 2022 Indonesia Criminal Code, the office also issued additional statement to urge the people who disagree with the law to apply for the judicial review to the Constitutional Court, not by committing bombing or attacking the government authorities.
[70] Major Islamic mass organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah as well as Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) condemned the attack.
[71][72][73] People's Representative Council member from the Democratic Party Santoso publicly mocked the BNPT for being inept and ineffective in combating terrorism and its inability to prevent the attack.
[74] Another People's Representative Council member from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Bambang Wuryanto, criticized the BIN, BNPT, and National Police for their intelligence failure and ineffectiveness of their deradicalization program.
[75][76] Vice President Ma'ruf Amin also requested these agencies to evaluate the deradicalization program and also requested the MUI to reactivate and intensified the MUI Task Force for Counterterrorism to assist the law enforcement and promoting the moderate Islam to counter the Islamic extremism.