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Thought to be “weakened and isolated,” Indonesia’s Jemaah Islamiyah regroups, forges links with international jihadist groups

May 31, 2008 12:04 am By Marisol Seibold

For those who would attempt to explain away worldwide jihadist activity as a series of unrelated regional disputes, networking like this poses an obvious problem, by pointing to common motives and a common goal: fighting non-Muslims in order to impose Sharia law.

As Iraq is listed as one possible destination for Indonesian jihadists, some may also claim that grievances about the Iraq war must have “radicalized” them. But these groups and that mindset certainly predate the Iraq war; the prospect of killing Indonesians — particularly Indonesian Muslims — has become a serious political liability. As noted below, “They see Iraq as a more clear-cut case for jihad than Indonesia.”

And it wouldn’t be the first time going abroad has occurred to Indonesian jihadist leadership: in the summer of 2006, JI leader Abu Bakar Bashir said Indonesia should send jihadists to Israel.

“AP Exclusive: Police arrest reports give picture of Indonesia’s international terror links,” by Chris Brummitt for the Associated Press, May 30:

JAKARTA, Indonesia – After months on the run, two alleged leaders in a Southeast Asian militant group were holed up in a cheap Malaysian hotel, ready to fly to the Middle East to link up with other Islamic extremists, possibly in Iraq.

The pair had bribed Indonesian immigration officials to smooth their way out of the airport in Jakarta, where they started their journey. An Algerian gave them fake passports, airline tickets and militant contacts in Syria.

But they never made it farther than Kuala Lumpur. It is unclear what led police in the Malaysian capital to their room early this year, but _ befuddled by sleep _ they did not resist arrest.

The foiled flight of Abu Husna and Agus Purwantoro, who were sent back to Indonesia in late March, is just part of the story outlined in police investigation reports obtained by The Associated Press.

The documents detail how the regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah has maintained the ability and desire to forge international links despite a crackdown that most experts believed left it severely weakened and isolated, with hundreds of its members behind bars.

Therein lies a cautionary tale against complacency.

The papers also provide rare details on the inner workings of the network, showing how Husna and Purwantoro were able to travel around Indonesia, using passwords to meet up with other wanted men at mosques, bus stations and cheap restaurants before fleeing the country.

Members and associates of Jemaah Islamiyah are blamed for a string of suicide bombings in Southeast Asia _ which have together killed more than 240 people, most of them Western tourists _ as well as a number of failed terror plots. The group had ties with al-Qaida and other foreign extremists before 2002, but most experts have thought the links had been broken since then.

“If there is a North African in Jakarta assisting the Jemaah Islamiyah network, then that is not a good thing,” Sidney Jones, a leading authority on Southeast Asian militants, said about the Algerian sympathizer that the captured pair identified as “Jafar.” […]

Nasir Abbas, a former Jemaah Islamiyah commander in Sulawesi who knew Purwantoro well, said he thought it likely the men were traveling to Iraq because they believed Indonesia was no longer a suitable venue for jihad, or holy war.

“They see Iraq as a more clear-cut case for jihad than Indonesia,” said Abbas, who now works closely with police. “Even if they get arrested on the way, they believe that every step they take to that goal gets them reward in heaven.”

According to the police documents’ accounts of their interrogations, Husna and Purwantoro allegedly met with Jafar in both Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.

“It suggests an international network with a base in Jakarta and raises all sorts of questions about who else might be here,” Jones said….

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