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Rising threat of IS terrorism in Southeast Asia: Expert
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Containing terrorism – The National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad ‘paralyze’ a suspected terrorists in a simulation at the East Java Police headquarters in Surabaya, East Java, recently. (thejakartapost.com/Wahyoe Boediwardhana)
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mid a string of suicide bombings in numerous countries, a terrorism expert has warned of a rising threat from the Islamic State (IS) group, especially in Southeast Asia.
The director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), Sidney Jones, pointed to the recent grenade attack on a pub in Puchong, Kuala Lumpur, as one of numerous terrorism warning signs, particularly as it marked the first attack in the name of IS on Malaysian soil.
Tuesday's suicide bombing near Surakarta Police headquarters in Surakarta, Central Java, believed to have been carried out by an IS supporter, was also evidence of IS' growing influence in the region, Jones said.
"As IS comes under more pressure in the Middle East, it wants to see more attacks elsewhere," Jones told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
IS’ Ramadhan killing spree across numerous countries follows a call by the group's spokesperson, Abu Muhammad Al-‘Adnani, who had ordered IS followers to "make it a month of calamity everywhere for the non-believers". The order was conveyed in a video circulated on the internet in May.
Throughout the fasting month, IS supporters killed more than 800 civilians in numerous attacks, from the massacre at a gay club in Orlando, US, to Sunday's attack in Baghdad that claimed more than 200 lives and the recent suicide bombing near the Prophet Muhammad's Mosque in the Saudi Arabian city of Medina.
While the government had advised people to keep vigilant in public places, airports remained most vulnerable to terrorist attacks, Jones said. Therefore, officials should conduct an emergency security review to identify and fix shortcomings.
She added that inter-agency cooperation between security bodies, including the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police was of utmost importance to identify and tackle terrorist movements these days. (dan)
