According to police, a guy suspected of terrorism was taken into custody by Densus 88, Indonesia’s top counterterrorism team, in Central Java. Suspected to be a JAD sympathizer connected to the ISIS terrorist network, the local guy, identified by the initial A, had previously joined the Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) organization in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
Detachment 88, commonly known as Densus 88, is an elite counter-terrorism unit within the Indonesian National Police, established in 2003 following the 2002 Bali bombings to combat terrorism in Indonesia. It was formed with significant financial, training, and operational support from the United States and Australia, including assistance from the Diplomatic Security Service’s Antiterrorism Assistance Program.
Central Java Police Public Relations said in a statement that it is also known that the suspected person contributed to the dissemination of extreme material on social media. “With assistance from the Central Java Regional Police, Densus 88 arrested the suspect, identified as A, in Bener district, Purworejo regency. Densus the suspect is now at Police Headquarters, handled by unit 88 Jakarta,” said Commissioner Artanto, head of Central Java Police Public Relations.
This arrest comes after Densus 88 arrested an 18-year-old guy in Gowa, South Sulawesi, during a separate operation over the weekend on suspicion of spreading extremist propaganda and encouraging terrorism online. On Saturday night, the suspect—who was only known by his initials, MAS—was arrested.
Densus 88 is the police special unit in Indonesia that is responsible for tracking, investigating, and dismantling terror networks, especially Jihadist groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and its affiliates. The unit has been credited with the arrests of hundreds of terror suspects and also neutralizing some of the main terrorist leaders, such as Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top. This has all contributed to a weakening of terror networks in Indonesia.
Densus88 also carries out actions besides arrests and targeted killings. They conduct preventive detentions and intelligent operations that can help stop planned attacks and dismantle terror cells before they can act. Densus 88 is also key in Indonesia’s P/CVE efforts by identifying militant personnel, working with communities to lessen recruitment, and adjusting action plans countering online radicalization and online propaganda.
Densus 88 works together with the military and intelligence agencies, as well as collaborators in other parts of Indonesian security and international partners, to facilitate coordination and a better response in counterterrorism. Recent anti-terrorism laws in Indonesia have allowed Densus 88 greater authority to detain for longer periods and prosecute individuals involved in non-violent terrorism, such as propaganda dissemination.
