Five Big Terrorist Groups Threaten Indonesia, Analyst Says

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Al-Chaidar, an observer of terrorism from Aceh's Malikussaleh University, said there are currently some 37,000 terrorists in Indonesia. These terrorists belong to five radical groups; are Jamaah Ansharud Daulah (JAD), Jamaah Ansharut Khilafah (JAK), Jamaah Ansharut Khilafah Masyriq, Jamaah Ansharut Khilafah Maghrib, and the East Indonesia Mujahidin.

Chaidar said the five radical groups are related to each other and receive direct orders from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Iraq-Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, to carry out terror in various countries.

"So, there is still a possibility of terror even though some people have been arrested," Chaidar told Tempo yesterday.

Read also: Indonesia`s Soft Approach to Counter Terrorism Threats

On Thursday last week, the 88 Anti-terror Special Detachment (Densus 88) arrested two terror suspects in Bitung, North Sulawesi. Both men, suspected of being members of JAD Lampung, were captured when trying to board a ship to Poso, Central Sulawesi, allegedly to join the East Indonesia Mujahidin.

The police suspect the Lampung JAD group to be affiliated with JAD East Java, which committed bomb attacks in several churches, last year. The Lampung JAD network is also suspected of being linked to the terror group that detonated a bomb on Jakarta's M.H. Thamrin Road in January 2016.

The JAD groups in various regions operate under the JAD Indonesia with leader Aman Abdurrahman, who is facing a death sentence for giving terror orders in June last year.

"This group is a structured terrorist network. This means that they are very strong," said Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo, chief spokesman of the National Police's PR division.

KORAN TEMPO