Batu, East Java. A suspected militant who was arrested recently in the East Java town of Batu has planned bomb attacks on two worship places in the nearby city of Malang, police said on Thursday.

The suspect, identified by the initials HOK, was arrested a day earlier at Bunga Tanjung housing complex in Junrejo district.

Police found explosive materials and bomb shells after conducting a search inside his home.

"According to the investigation, the explosive materials will be used to blow up two worship places in Malang,” East Java Police spokesman Chief Comr. Dirmanto told reporters.

The National Police’s counterterror squad Detachment 88 also arrested two other individuals who are being interrogated in connection to the terror plot, Dirmanto said.

HOK allegedly is a sympathizer of the militant group Daulah Islamiyah, which translates to the Islamic State. 

National Police spokesman Brigadier General Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said earlier police seized a chemical substance known as triacetone triperoxide (TATP), which is classified as a powerful explosive.

Trunoyudo said HOK planned to launch a suicide attack using TATP.

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