The world’s most dense Muslim nation, Indonesia saw a string of terror attacks in the years after the September 11 attacks on the United States. These included the 2002 Bali bombings at a nightclub and bar on the Indonesian resort island, killing 202 people. That episode is believed to have been carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah. Security analysts, however, state that the militant threat has dropped significantly in recent years, largely because of prosperous security operations.
Recently, in April 2024 Indonesia’s elite counterterrorism police apprehended eight suspected militants considered to be part of a new cell connected to Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaida-linked group, authorities said.
Police executed raids in Central Sulawesi province, said Agus Nugroho, the provincial police chief, adding that five suspects were captured in the city of Palu, two in Sigi, and one in Poso which is an understood extremist hotbed. Two laptops, several cellular phones and manuscripts, including jihadi books were grabbed and suspects were being interrogated, Nugroho said.
National Police spokesperson Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko stated the arrests were the result of information received from 59 suspected militants detained in Oct. 2023.“(The eight) all actively partake in organization activities, particularly in military-style training and collecting funds for alleged plans of terror acts,” Andiko told journalists at the National Police headquarters in the capital, Jakarta. He added that sentenced leaders of the group and veteran fighters in
Afghanistan were compelling and training new members.
Jemaah Islamiyah is answerable for several attacks inside Indonesia, namely, the 2002 bombings on the spa island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. A court prohibited the group in 2008 and constant counterterrorism crackdowns, supported by the United States and Australia, have diluted it further. Last year, police charged a total of 142 suspected militants, including four women, and fatally attacked two others on southern Sumatra island.
Militant raids on foreigners in Indonesia have been largely replaced in recent years by more diminutive, less deadly strikes targeting the government, particularly police and anti-terrorism forces, and people militants believe to be infidels, inspired by Islamic State group tactics abroad.
Moreover, last year Indonesia’s counter-terrorism force stated it had arrested 59 suspected militants connected to terrorist organizations al-Qaeda and Islamic State over suspected actions to disrupt the upcoming presidential elections in February. The police unit — called Densus 88 — made the detentions in October, a spokesperson said. They also grasped propaganda material, bomb-making chemicals, and spears, Aswin Siregar said at a press conference in the capital, Jakarta.
“I think this served as a warning for them that Densus 88 would not tolerate the slightest threat to our domestic security, especially in the situation leading up to… the election,” he stated.
Of the 59 presumed militants, 40 are from IS-linked Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) who were preparing an attack on the presidential elections scheduled to be held in February of 2024, Siregar spoke.
“For them, the election is part of democracy, whereby democracy is immoral. Democracy is something that disregards the law for them,” he said. “They planned to carry out aggression on security forces who focus on securing the string of election activities.” The other 19 suspects are tied to the Jemaah Islamiyah network, which has links with Al-Qaeda, Siregar said.
