Investigations are underway into whether a terrorist group police fatally clashed with in Aceh last week is connected to al-Qaeda, says the National Police.
During an armed conflict with the group last week, three officers from the Mobile Brigade (Brimob), two civilians and two alleged terrorists were killed.
The al-Qaeda claim was posted on the website alufuq.wordpress.com, which is run by a group called the “Tandzim Al-Qoidah Indonesia Serambi Makkah”. Details of the groups’ alleged terror activities are listed on the website.
“It could be fictitious, but we have to take it seriously and investigate,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
In the blog, the group claims the recent clashes with the police were part of its war against the enemies of Islam, the Jews and the salibis or Christians. The Al-Qoidah also calls for support from all Muslims for their jihad, or “holy war”.
“We are investigating the website too see if it’s propaganda,” Edward said.
A similar blog was also identified after last year’s JW Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings. Under the name of “Tandzim Al-Qoidah Indonesia”, Malaysian-born terror leader Noordin M. Top claimed responsibility for the attacks against “the enemy of Islam”.
Noordin was killed with his followers in a Densus 88 raid in Surakarta, Central Java, last year.
Dynno Chressbon, an intelligence expert, believes the website was created by a terrorist group for propaganda purposes, such as claiming success in the recent conflict that killed three officers.
Of the three deaths, Edward said that two officers were fatally shot on Saturday while trying to evacuate the body of their colleague, First Brig. Boas Woisiri, who was killed during Thursday’s shoot-out in Aceh Besar.
Boas’s body arrived in Jakarta on Saturday and will be buried at a police cemetery in Cikeas, West Java, on Sunday, Aritonang said. The other two Brimob officers, whose identity is yet to be made public, were from Aceh.
In regard to the high number of police fatalities, Edward acknowledged the terrorists were more familiar with the area than the police officers.
“Besides, they were on higher ground and could monitor our movement very well.”
On Saturday, the National Police dispatched another 100 Brimob officers to reinforce the offensive. A field officer, who declined to be named, said the terror group had about 70 combatants.
Dynno said this time the battlefield posed more of a challenge for both the police’s special detachment and counterterrorism 88 (Densus 88) squads than the terrain in Java where they previously busted several terror groups.
“This is especially true for Densus 88, which was not adequately trained to deal with guerilla warfare. It must work extra hard to win this war,” he said.
Aritonang said that 13 alleged terrorists had been arrested and were currently being detained at Brimob headquarters in Kelapa Dua, just south of Jakarta.
Soeripto, a terrorism analyst, called on the police Saturday to investigate whether the Aceh terror group was linked to al-Qaeda as was claimed on the Internet.
Soeripto believes the group is orchestrated by an international interest group to foster separatism.
For decades, Indonesia fought separatism in Aceh.
