The first known attack linked to this nexus took place on Jan. 27, 2019, when Rullie Rian Zeke and Ulfah Handayani Saleh, an Indonesian couple from Makassar, carried out a suicide bombing at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral on Jolo island in the southern Philippine province of Sulu.

The couple did not carry out the attack alone, as Rullie and Ulfah received logistical support from a local terrorist group led by Hatib Hadjan Sawadjaan. The connection was made through Andi Baso, an Indonesian national and member of the Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) terror group, who guided the couple from the end of their mandatory deradicalization program through to their jihad “mission” in the southern Philippines.

Interestingly, after it was confirmed that Rullie and Ulfah were Indonesian nationals who had once tried to reach Syria and join Islamic State, the Indonesian and Philippine authorities discovered that Indonesian nationals Andi, his wife Rezky Fantasya and Rezky’s siblings Ibrahim, 11, and Aisyah, 9, were still wandering around Patikul, a village in the Sulu archipelago that is known for harboring several local terrorist groups, including factions that were sheltering foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).

Authorities had been progressively identifying this pattern for a few years and Andi might have played a major role. During his time with terrorist groups in Patikul, Andi had developed strong ties with local residents who spoke Malay, including Mundi Sawadjaan, who succeeded Hadian after he was killed in July 2020. Andi also communicated with his contacts in Makassar, asking them to regroup, train and prepare themselves in case they could cross the border to join him in the southern Philippines.

From this perspective, what was considered a terrorist cell in Makassar was getting ready to wage jihad, either in Indonesia or by joining Andi in Sulu. Meanwhile, the families of Indonesian FTFs were financially supporting their operations from Indonesia. This was the case with Rezky’s family in Makassar, who sent funds to support her and Andi.

The network that was involved in the two bombings were identified and tracked by following Andi and his entourage. One of Andi’s close friends, Sanjai Azis, had already made an attempt to cross the border from Kalimantan to Sabah in 2019, but had to return to Makassar because he lacked funds and found it impossible to reach Sulu.

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