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M'€™sia deports 12 alleged IS supporters en route to Syria

The Malaysian authorities have deported 12 Indonesian citizens who were allegedly on their way to Syria to lend support to the Islamic State (IS) movement in the civil war currently raging in that Iraq and Syria

Hasyim Widhiarto (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, December 16, 2014

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M'€™sia deports 12 alleged IS supporters en route to Syria

T

he Malaysian authorities have deported 12 Indonesian citizens who were allegedly on their way to Syria to lend support to the Islamic State (IS) movement in the civil war currently raging in that Iraq and Syria.

National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said on Monday that the 12 people '€” three men, four women and five children '€” would be sent from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta on Monday night or Tuesday morning with an escort of  Indonesian police officers.

According to Boy, the 12 people, most of whom come from East Java, will be taken to the Police'€™s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java, for questioning soon after their arrival.

'€œWe will only question, not arrest, them,'€ Boy said in a press conference.

'€œThis is a form of prevention. The motivation for and background to their [planned] departure [to Syria], however, remain unknown.'€

Separately, the police attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Sr. Comr. Aby Nursetyanto, said the 12 Indonesian citizens had been arrested by the Royal Malaysian Police'€™s E8 special unit on Dec. 2. while they were staying at a hotel near Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The 12 people, according to Aby, arrived in Kuala Lumpur the day before and were waiting for their flight to Istanbul, Turkey, where their colleagues were waiting to help them enter Syria.

'€œThat'€™s what they have admitted. There is even information that some of their friends have been there [in Syria],'€ Aby told tempo.co.

The Indonesian National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) recently warned that a lack of concerted efforts in fighting the proliferation of IS ideology had resulted in an unprecedented rise in the number of Indonesians slipping away to Syria and Iraq to fight for the group.

'€œIn June 2014, the number of IS followers embarking from Indonesia was 86. The number soared to 264 in October,'€ BNPT chief Comr. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said.

In total, an estimated 514 Indonesians have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight with the IS. Around half of the them are Indonesian citizens who resided in nearby countries as students or migrant workers prior to the rise of the IS, according to data from the BNPT.

Given that figure, Indonesia is probably the region'€™s biggest supplier of IS fighters. In comparison, around 40 Malaysians, 200 Filipinos and 60 Australians have joined the IS in Syria and Iraq, according to media reports.

To protect the safety of Indonesian citizens and maintain international security, the National Police, according to Boy, has initiated cooperation with police forces in other Southeast Asian countries to prevent Indonesian citizens flying to conflict-prone countries, including Syria.

'€œWe want to prevent our citizens from joining rebel activities overseas,'€ he said.

Meanwhile The Star reported, they were arrested for their alleged involvement in militancy and using Malaysia as a transit point before heading to Syria.

Khalid added that one of the suspects arrested was a facilitator who made arrangements for fellow Indonesian militants to go to Syria.

The facilitator is believed to be connected to a key Abu Sayyaf Group member, Umar Patek, and al-Qaeda in Asia.

The foreigners were arrested under Section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for entering the country without valid documents.

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