Woman Carrying Gun Detained Outside Indonesian Presidential Palace

The woman, who appeared to be in her twenties, was detained by the security officers after she brandished the gun near the palace, said an official.

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Indonesia: The woman had not entered the palace compound, an official said. (File)
Jakarta:

Indonesian authorities detained on Tuesday a woman carrying a gun outside the presidential palace in Jakarta, though the country's leader was not there at the time and there were no injuries, officials said.

The incident had happened at about 7 am local time (0000 GMT), said a presidential official, Ali Mochtar Ngabalin.

Ali said that the woman had not entered the palace compound and that President Joko Widodo was not present.

She was wearing a niqab, or the full-face Islamic veil, and was carrying the Quran, Ali said.

The woman, who appeared to be in her twenties, had been detained by security officers after brandishing the gun near the palace, he added.

A spokesperson for the Jakarta police said the woman was now being questioned, but it was not immediately clear what her motive was or how she had obtained the weapon.

Indonesia, which is the world's biggest Muslim-majority country, has previously suffered terror attacks, sometimes targeting government officials and security forces.

Police shot dead a woman who had opened fire on officers at the national police headquarters in Jakarta last year in an attack inspired by the ISIS.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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