Indonesia investigates country’s passports found in Turkey’s nightclub attack

JAKARTA –Indonesian police have been carrying out investigation in the discovery of alleged Indonesian passports involving Turkey’s night club shooting that left 39 people dead, a police spokesman said here on Wednesday.

During the raid, three or four passports allegedly owned by Indonesian nationals were found, said Awi Setiyono, the Indonesian national police spokesman.

Scores of members of Indonesian national police anti-terror squad have been sent to Turkey, in collaboration with the Interpol and the Turkish police of Turk, Setiyono said.

“The investigators were conducting verification on the passports, and the identities of the owners of the passports are being probed,” he said at the national police headquarters.

During the raid on an apartment in Ismir city, the police arrested 40 alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) and are suspectedly involved in the attack at the night club.

The Turkish police also seized scores of passports from several nations, including those allegedly from Indonesia, according to Indonesian foreign ministry.

However, the ministry could not confirm the originality of the passport.

Indonesian authorities have taken measures to prevent recruitment of militants by the IS group in the country, and stop departure of citizens to travel to Syria for joining the global terrorist group.

Besides, the country’s security authorities have been monitoring the movement of dozens of citizens back home from IS activities in Mosul of Iraq.