Islamic terrorists confess to schoolgirl beheadings

Islamic terrorists confess to schoolgirl beheadings

SULAWESI, Indonesia — Police in Indonesia announced May 10 that seven suspected Islamic terrorists have confessed to beheading three Indonesian schoolgirls in Poso, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, in October 2005. Five men were arrested on May 5 in Tolitoli regency, Central Sulawesi.

“Two of the [arrested men] were involved in the murders,” national police spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam told reporters. “Another of them was detained for carrying ammunition while the other two were arrested as accessories (to crimes).” Two additional suspects have not yet been publicly identified. Theresia Morangke, 15; Alfita Poliwo, 17; and Yarni Sambue, 15, were beheaded early in the morning of Oct. 29, 2005, as they walked to a Christian school in Poso district. A fourth girl, Noviana Malewa, 15, received serious injuries to her face and neck but survived the attack.