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Crackdown against IS nets five
Cracking down: Densus 88 counterterrorism squad members stand guard outside the residence of an alleged Islamic State movement supporter in South Tangerang, Banten, on Sunday
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span class="inline inline-center">Cracking down: Densus 88 counterterrorism squad members stand guard outside the residence of an alleged Islamic State movement supporter in South Tangerang, Banten, on Sunday. The police's special force also arrested another four suspects in South Jakarta, Bekasi and Cibubur, West Java. JP/DON
The National Police confirmed on Sunday that the five suspected extremists the Densus 88 counterterrorism squad arrested on Saturday had allegedly facilitated the trip of 16 Indonesians recently detained by Turkish authorities for intending to cross the country's border to join the Islamic State (IS) movement in Syria.
One of the five, Amin Mude, was previously accused of masterminding a failed attempt to send six people from Makassar, South Sulawesi, to join the IS in Syria, late last year. The police could not build a case against him at the time and he was only charged with documents forgery.
National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that aside from Amin, four others were identified as Muhammad Fachri, Aprianul Henri, Engkos Koswara and Furqon ' all of whom were detained in separate crackdowns launched since Saturday.
'They are allegedly funding the trip and working with travel agents that arranged the travel of the detained Indonesians,' Rikwanto said.
The 16 Indonesians ' one male adult, four pregnant women and 11 minors ' were arrested by the Turkish authorities in January and were detained in the city of Gaziantep. However, the Indonesian government was not notified of the detentions until March.
Aside from funding the trip, the police also believed that the five people helped to directly recruit prospective IS fighters to be sent to Iraq and Syria.
The five suspects had also facilitated the journey of around 21 Indonesians currently fighting in Syria with the IS to form a caliphate, according to Rikwanto.
In an interview with The Jakarta Post on Dec. 28, Amin Mude claimed he alone had dispatched 10 people to Syria in September, one of whom had died prior to the subsequent attempt to send another six.
'The IS hasn't slaughtered anyone. The Syrian and Iraqi governments, who are largely Shiite, have been slaughtering Sunni women and children. The IS is only protecting its Sunni brethren,' Amin argued.
Following Amin's case, Jakarta Police violent crime sub-directorate unit head Sr. Comr. Herry Heryawan said the police expanded their operations on Sunday by conducting four raids in separate locations in Jakarta, Banten and West Java.
'We searched for further evidence in Cisauk district in Tangerang, Banten, as well as in Petukangan district in South Jakarta and in Tambun district in Bekasi and in Gunung Putri district in Bogor, West Java,' Herry said.
Herry further said that Densus had confiscated five laptops, one hard disc, one camera, IS uniforms, three bank account books and several jihad books from Fachri's house in Setu district in Tangerang.
'There were also documents and proposals related to fund-raising to operate al-mustaqbal.net. The suspect said that he used all the confiscated goods to help him upload videos, pictures and news about IS activities,' Herry said, adding that the team also seized Rp 8 million (US$600) and $5,300 from Fachri's house.
After the arrests, the police charged Fachri with Law No. 15/2003 on counterterrorism, Law No. 9/2013 on funding terrorism, as well as with the 2008 Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law, while his four colleagues have been charged with the funding of terrorism.
Terrorism expert Nasir Abbas, a reformed member of terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), said that increasing support for the IS in Indonesia would make it easier for extremists to lure more fighters.
'Those who are already in Syria are accumulating resources for their future struggles when they return to Indonesia,' Nasir said.
Indonesian authorities have estimated that more than 600 Indonesians have already joined the IS in Syria or Iraq.
Apart from the 16 detained suspected IS supporters in Turkey, Indonesian and Turkish authorities are also teaming up to find the whereabouts of another group of 16 Indonesians who went missing while on a group tour in Istanbul.
