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National Police arrest terrorism suspects in face of ISIL threat
Raising awareness: Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin (left) and Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Din Syamsuddin talk to the press on Saturday after a seminar on the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) in Jakarta
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Raising awareness:: Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin (left) and Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Din Syamsuddin talk to the press on Saturday after a seminar on the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) in Jakarta. (JP/AWO) (left) and Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Din Syamsuddin talk to the press on Saturday after a seminar on the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) in Jakarta. (JP/AWO)
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span class="inline inline-center">Raising awareness: Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin (left) and Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Din Syamsuddin talk to the press on Saturday after a seminar on the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) in Jakarta. (JP/AWO)
The National Police have arrested terrorist suspects and raided alleged supporters of the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) after the government's pledge to curb support for the group in the country.
The police's Densus 88 counterterrorism unit arrested late on Saturday Afif Abdul Majid, a leader of radical Islamist group Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), in a terrorist crackdown in Bekasi, West Java.
Arrested for his involvement in funding terrorist activity in Aceh in 2010, Afif is also alleged to have declared allegiance to ISIL along with firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in Nusakambangan Penitentiary.
The arrest came after the arrest of two alleged accomplices of suspected terrorist leader Santoso in Ngawi, East Java, on Friday, during which arms and an ISIL flag were seized.
ISIL or the Islamic State (IS) as they call themselves, is an extreme militant group that has been engaged in conflict in Syria and Iraq.
'From our data, Afif was involved in terrorist activities in Aceh back in 2010,' National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto said on Sunday.
'We are prioritizing our investigation on his roles in Aceh in the first place, although we also know that Afif is a supporter of ISIL,' Agus added.
While Afif and Ba'asyir, who co-founded JAT, have stated their personal endorsements of the militant group, other JAT members have been reluctant to follow suit.
Former leader Mochamad Achwan and a son of Ba'asyir have refused to join the group.
The government has denounced ISIL and has banned support for the group following the circulation of YouTube videos of locals endorsing the group.
The Communications and Information Ministry has blocked some of the videos while the National Police have said they will be vigilant toward extremist groups that might also declare allegiance to ISIL.
The government has, however, not yet banned organizations affiliated to the militant group, and arrests have only been made of supporters who are already on the wanted list for past terrorist activities.
Another National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said that Afif had been sought for years by the police before being tracked down to Bekasi. 'Afif is an ISIL figure in Indonesia. He is a supporter who provides financial backing [to ISIL in Indonesia],' Boy said on Sunday as quoted by kompas.com.
Boy declined to reveal details of the involvement of Afif in ISIL activity in Indonesia, saying only that the police were still intensively questioning him to uncover further information.
National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) head Ansyaad Mbai said on Sunday those who supported ISIL in Indonesia were old hands who knew very well how to disseminate the violent ISIL ideology.
According to Mbai, a number of terrorist groups exist across Indonesia and are prone to supporting ISIL.
For example, in South Sumatra and Aceh, there is the Qoidah Aminah group, which was headed by Dulmatin of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), who was shot dead in 2010, as well as Mustofa of JI and JAT, Abdullah Sonata of Kompak, Aman Abdul Rahman and Abu Omar of the Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) movement.
Mbai said that there was also the Indonesian Mujahidin Group in Lampung, NII in South Kalimantan, East Indonesia Mujahidin in Poso, Central Sulawesi, while in Ambon, there is the Walid group. In Bali, he added, there was also a JAT branch, while in Java there are groups headed by Abu Omar and Abu Roban.
Mbai added that terrorists also recruited police and military members, from who they acquired firearms. 'They are becoming more dangerous because they also recruit police and soldiers. This is a real threat to our country,' Mbai said as quoted by tempo.co on Sunday.
Separately, Bali Police with the assistance of the Army conducted a raid on Saturday night in Tabanan and detained 49 people without ID cards in their efforts to tighten security.
