Indonesian police said Thursday they have arrested at least 53 suspected militants in recent weeks believed to have links to banned extremist groups, in a nationwide crackdown on a new cell of Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for a string of past bombings.
The arrests were made in 11 provinces in the past two weeks, including five men who were arrested on Thursday, National Police spokesperson Ahmad Ramadhan said. Those arrested are mostly suspected of being members of Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaeda-linked group responsible for 2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, and other attacks.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
It was banned by a court in 2008 and has been weakened by a sustained crackdown on militants by counterterrorism police with US and Australian support.
The arrests followed tips that convicted leaders and veteran fighters in Afghanistan were recruiting and training new members, Ramadhan said.
“We are still searching for other members and continue to hunt them down,” Ramadhan said, “There will be no place for JI in Indonesia.”
He did not elaborate on what the group was planning. Three suspects linked to a banned local affiliate of the Islamic State group known as Jemaah Anshorut Daulah were also among those arrested last week.
In March, the police elite counterterrorism squad, known as Densus 88, arrested 22 suspected militants in East Java province, including Usman bin Sef, also known as Fahim, a JI member and veteran fighter in Afghanistan who was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail in 2005 over a plot to attack police.
East Java vice police chief Slamet Hadi Suprapto said the JI cell led by Fahim had recruited at least 50 new members in the province in the past five years.
He said Fahim had established a training ground to create an extremist group and was recruiting and training new JI members. The suspects created a bunker for weapons and bomb making and conducted military-style training in East Java’s Malang district, he said.
In December, authorities arrested two dozen alleged JI members in Lampung province on Sumatra island, including the group’s suspected military leader, Zulkarnaen, who had been wanted for more than 18 years.
Militant attacks on foreigners have been largely replaced in recent years by smaller, less deadly strikes targeting the government, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces and local “infidels,” inspired by ISIS group attacks abroad.
Read more: US Secretary of State says he is launching strategic dialogue with Indonesia
-
US Secretary of State says he is launching strategic dialogue with Indonesia
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday he was launching a “strategic dialogue” between the United States and Indonesia at talks in ... World News -
Indonesian security forces kill two militants with suspected links to ISIS
Indonesian security forces on Sunday killed two suspected militants with ties to ISIS who were believed to be connected to the killing of Christian ... World News -
Indonesia police investigate death of politician who opposed remote gold mine
Indonesian police are looking into the death of a politician from Sulawesi Island who opposed a gold mine project there, after environmental groups ... World News -
Dozens of Rohingya refugees land off Indonesia coast
A boat filled with dozens of Rohingya, mostly women and children, landed on an island off the Indonesian coast early Friday, according to an AFP ... World News -
Indonesians protest over Israeli airstrikes at US embassy
Pro-Palestinian protesters marched to the heavily guarded US Embassy in Indonesia’s capital on Tuesday to demand an end to Israeli airstrikes in the ... World News -
ISIS-linked militants kill four farmers in Indonesian village
ISIS-linked extremists have killed four farmers in a remote village on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, police confirmed Wednesday, with one of the ... World News