Indonesian extremist jailed over deadly Jakarta attack

JAKARTA: An Indonesian court Wednesday jailed an extremist for nine years for his role in a deadly gun and suicide bombing attack in Jakarta claimed by the Islamic State group.
Saiful Muhtorir was found guilty of helping funnel cash to the militants behind the January assault, which killed four civilians and four attackers.
"I accept the judge's verdict. I am not going to file an appeal," Muhtorir told the courtroom.
Muhtorir, also known by his alias Abu Gar, was also found guilty of weapons possession. Prosecutors had been seeking a ten-year sentence for his crimes.
The attack – the first claimed by IS in Southeast Asia – saw dramatic scenes as a suicide bomber blew himself up in a Starbucks and security forces battled gun-toting militants.
It was the first major attack for seven years in Indonesia, which has long struggled with Islamic militancy.
Muhtorir is the latest extremist sentenced to jail over the assault.
Last month three others were jailed for their roles in the attack, including one for helping to make a bomb and a second for trying unsuccessfully to procure weapons and ammunition.
Dozens of people have been arrested over suspected involvement.
There has been an upsurge of violence and attempted attacks in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country over the past year due to the growing influence of IS.
Police in October shot dead a man carrying knives, suspected pipe bombs and an IS symbol after he assaulted officers near Jakarta.
Other IS-linked incidents this year include a foiled plan to launch a rocket at an upmarket Singapore waterfront district from an Indonesian island and a botched suicide bombing attack on a police station that killed only the assailant.
A Uighur radical with links to an IS militant was jailed in November for planning bomb attacks in Indonesia against a Shia mosque and a top-ranking policeman. — AFP