Indonesian police have detained around 20 suspected militants as security steps up ahead of the Christmas and New Year holiday season.

Indonesia's police chief Tito Karnavian (Photo: Reuters)

National police chief Tito Karnavian said the detentions were made preventatively under a revised anti-terrorism law approved in May, following suicide bombings claimed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) that killed more than 30 people in the city of Surabaya.

The police chief did not identify any of the suspects, but said they were detained in various parts of the country.

Although there is no information released yet about expected terror acts over Christmas and New Year, security forces are taking proactive steps – including arrests like these, Karnavian said.

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, has struggled to contain a resurgence in militancy, during which scores of Indonesians have travelled to the Middle East to join the IS.

In 2000, attacks on churches in the capital of Jakarta on Christmas Eve killed nearly 20 people.

Under the revised law, anyone suspected of planning an attack can be held for up to 21 days for an initial inquiry and for up to 200 days for a formal investigation.

(Source: VNA)