New law in Indonesia after attacks using children

Indonesia's parliament unanimously approved a tougher anti-terrorism law on Friday, lengthening detention periods and involving the military in counter-terrorism operations, spurred into action by recent bombings that involved children as perpetrators.

Rights groups had criticised some revisions as overly broad or vague and warned against rushing them into law. The scope for the military to become involved in counter-terrorism operations is contentious because it backtracks on two decades of keeping soldiers out of areas under civilian authority.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had threatened to impose the changes by special decree if parliament didn't rapidly approve them. Changes were first proposed after a January 2016 suicide bombing and gun attack in Jakarta but languished in the legislature.

Police have killed 14 suspected Islamic militants and arrested 60 since the suicide bombings May 13-14 in Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, that were carried out by radicalised families, who involved their children, as young as 7, in the attacks.