Terrorism analysts have questioned the police'€™s claim that alleged Islamic State (IS) movement member Bahrun Naim is behind the Jan. 14 terrorist attack in Central Jakarta, instead they believe another terrorist convict, Aman Abdurahman, is the initiator of the attack.

Former member of the Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) group Al-Chaidar said the planner of the attacks that left eight people dead was Aman, the leader of IS-affiliated group Tauhid Wal Jihad, who is currently being held in Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java.

Afif, also known as Sunakim, a terrorist convict killed in the attack, met with Aman in November, 2014 in prison, said Al-Chaidar. "From my viewpoint, it's not Bahrun, but [Aman], who is still in prison," Al-Chaidar said as quoted by tempo.co.

Similarly, former Jamaah Islamiyah member Nasir Abbas said Aman was the attack orchestrator who controlled the terrorist actvity inside and outside the prison.

It was Aman who instructed Bahrun to handle the ammunition for a militant group in Central Java, leading to the imprisonment of Bahrun in 2011, after which he left Indonesia in February 2015, Nasir said.

Meanwhile, a terrorist convict, Muhammad Jibriel Abdul Rahman said contact between Afif and Bahrun was limited as Bahrun had dropped out of the group due to ideological differences.

Police identified Bahrun as the figure behind the Jakarta attack not long after the coordinated bombings and shooting occurred on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, but police have not named Bahrun a suspect.

Meanwhile, the police were still investigating the transfer of funds from Bahrun in Syria to suspected terrorists in Indonesia as well as the relationship between Bahrun and IS in Syria, said National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Charliyan.

A report from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) shows 10 suspicious transactions allegedly intended to fund the terrorist attack, which National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said amounted to between Rp 40 million (US$2,876) and Rp 70 million from Syria through Western Union, a payment service company.

The National Police had cooperated with Interpol and intelligence agencies to monitor Bahrun, who was believed to currently reside in Raqqa, Syria and acted as the leader of IS in Southeast Asia, Anton said.

A recording of someone who appeared to be Bahrun, has circulated on Soundcloud, a global online audio platform. The person denied his involvement in the Jakarta attack, saying that he rarely went online and thus it was impossible for him to conduct communication.

Bahrun's family has confirmed that the voice in the recording is that of Bahrun. "We hope Mas Bahrun will immediately come home to give an explanation," Dahlan Zaim, Bahrun's brother, said on Tuesday. (afr/bbn) (+)

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