Terrorists Confess to Beheading Schoolgirls

(Jakarta, Indonesia) Many people may recall last October's barbaric beheadings of three Christian schoolgirls in Indonesia. Well, here's the latest news on the case.

From TheJakartaPost.com:

Seven suspected Islamic terrorists have confessed to beheading three Christian schoolgirls on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island, police said Wednesday.

The seven detained suspects confessed under questioning that they planned and carried out the Oct. 29 beheadings in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rudi Sufahriadi told The Associated Press.

Another girl was wounded but spared by the assailants, he said.

Two of the suspects also say they have ties to Noordin Top, regarded as a key leader of the al-Qaeda-linked group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), according to Central Sulawesi police chief Brig. Gen. Oegroseno.

The girls were killed only because they were Christians. It's beyond me how anyone could assert that Islam and Christianity are not at war when attacks of this nature frequently occur. Maybe most Christians want to deny there is a war with Islam, but many Muslims appear to have a murderously different opinion.

Let's hope that the murdering criminals are treated harshly but, if history is an indicator, they likely won't be. Indonesia is a Muslim nation and it has customarily given jihadists insultingly lenient punishment.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.


[Update 05/16/06]

For those with strong stomachs, Tim at OpinionBug has links to the photos of the beheaded girls.