Jakarta bombing has no significant impact on Chinese tourists

Beijing (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Tourism Ministry has said that Chinese tourists interest to visit Indonesia remains high after the terror bombing in Central Jakartas Thamrin Boulevard on January 14, 2016.

"We found that during our tourism promotion in Wuhan, Shanghai and Beijing, Chinese tourists interest to visit Indonesia remains high, " said Jordi Paliama, the deputy director for Asia-Pacific Sale Mission of the Ministry of Tourism, said on the sidelines of the "Indonesia Direct Promotion" activities in Beijing on January 30-31,2016.

He said the number of those who asked about the Thamrin Bouleverd bombing was even very small. But, he added, he explained that the bomb terror had been handled by security officers and the Indonesian security condition was now very conducive.

"We told them about the statement of the Indonesian National Police chief that Indonesia is secure, " he said.

In the meantime, General Manager of the Indonesian flag carrier Garuda In donesia in Beijing, Hans Haliono, said the number of Chinese tourists who had cancelled plans to visit Jakarta was small, namely only about 10 to 20 people.

He added that the load factor for the Beijing-Jakarta route remained high namely 90 percent for January 2016.

Hans explained that the same thing also occurred on unscheduled flights (chartered flight). During the current celebrations of the Chinese New Year from January 21 to March 1, Garudas chartered flights still had seat capacity occupation reaching 95 percent.

Jordi Paliama said earlier that following the recent terror attack in Jakarta, the security situation has returned to normal and the country is safe for tourists.

"Now, the security situation in Jakarta, Bali and all Indonesian regions is safe and remains under control," he stated.

Indonesia hopes to lure 12 million foreign tourists, particularly from Malaysia, Singapore, China, Australia and Japan, this year.

"From China, especiall y, we plan to attract a total of 1.7 million tourists to spend holidays in Indonesia," he said, addressing some 100 Chinese businessmen engaged in tourism industry.

The number of Chinese tourists who visited Indonesia in 2014 was 959,231. It increased by 18.77 percent to 1,139,281 in 2015.

In addition to Bali, Indonesia has developed 10 major tourist destinations, according to him.

He said Indonesia is home to the worlds largest Chinese descent population outside China.

"So, when you come to Indonesia, consider it your second home. You will feel that you are visiting a home of your relatives," he remarked.

Indonesia has prepared various attractions, including "barongsai" dragon dance, for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

"So, Indonesia is safe for Chinese tourists, including for those wanting to celebrate Imlek (Chinese New Year)," he noted.

The spokesman of the Indonesian embassy in Beijing, Santo Darmosusanto, said the Indonesian authorities ha ve been serious in tackling the issue of terrorism.

"The Indonesian government is very caring and serious regarding the safety of its people and foreign nationals in its regions, both who are there for work or just to spend their holidays," he said.

Foreign tourists should not be scared of visiting Indonesia which is very safe and conducive to travel, he added.(Uu.A014/H-YH)

Source: Jakarta bombing has no significant impact on Chinese tourists

Jakarta attacks smartphone game Tumpas Teroris lets children show they are not afraid of terrorists

Indonesia's National Police have endorsed a smartphone game that lets children relive the January 14 attacks in Jakarta.

Players of Tumpas Teroris, which translates as Annihilate Terrorists, fire their slingshots at Afif, the black-capped militant who blew himself up outside the Starbucks on Jalan Thamrin.

I am not scared, but I am angry they did a cowardly act.

They are cowards and they made Indonesia unstable and no longer safe.

Adji Pratama, creator of Tumpas Teroris

If players' fingers are quick enough, they can rise through all seven levels of the game, which are set at various prominent areas of Jakarta like the Hotel Indonesia roundabout and the National Monument (Monas).

"It's among the ways we are trying to make children more aware of terrorism," said National Police spokesman General Anton Charliyan.

The app is available for free for Android-based phones, and there is a companion app that lets players report any suspicious activities that might be related to terrorism.

Developer Adji Pratama said it took him three days to build the game after the January 14 attacks.

"It was a safe and tolerant country but because they committed terror action they disturbed the peace in Indonesia," he said.

"Frankly I am not scared, but I am angry they did a cowardly act.

"They are cowards and they made Indonesia unstable and no longer safe."

He said that playing Tumpas Teroris, which is recommended for children three and older, was a good way for children to show terrorists that they were not afraid.

"I would like to convey a message that we can beat those terrorists," he said.

"They may be able kill two, three or four of us, but we can beat them.

"We can punish them using existing laws and they'll lose in the end if we all stay together, united — then there will be no place for terrorists."

The ABC recruited some Jakarta children to test the game.

"It was exciting — it was good to shoot the terrorists," said nine-year-old Adam Renno Syaputra.

"It was very good," said eight-year-old Flaviano Melkyano.

"I used the catapults to attack the terrorists. They died."

Adji Pratama is a socially-minded game developer, who has already had success with another game with a message.

Haze lets players extinguish the deliberately lit forest fires that blanket the archipelago each dry season.

Source: Jakarta attacks smartphone game Tumpas Teroris lets children show they are not afraid of terrorists

Jakarta arrests of Australian chiropractors Thomas and Anthony Dawson raise concern

Friends and patients of two Victorian chiropractors in police custody in Jakarta have raised concerns over their arrest, saying they were respected professionals who had worked legally for years in Indonesia.

Jakarta: Friends and patients of two Victorian chiropractors in police custody in Jakarta have raised concerns over their arrest, saying they were respected professionals who had worked for years in Indonesia.

Thomas and Anthony Dawson, who ran six Chiropractic Indonesia clinics in Jakarta and Bali, were arrested on suspicion of treating patients when their work permits did not allow this. Police say they could face up to five years' jail.

One of Anthony Dawson's closest friends, Mark Barlow, said Dr Dawson had run a successful clinic in Geelong before moving to Indonesia more than a decade ago.

Dr Thomas Dawson ran the the Wellbeing Chiropractic clinic in Hawthorn until about three years ago.

Both men are registered with the Chiropractic Board of Australia.

Mr Barlow said Anthony Dawson, the director of the clinics, had been scrupulous about ensuring he complied with Indonesian law and regulations, even hiring an inhouse lawyer and immigration expert.

"Everything was done to the nth degree to make sure everyone had the correct working permits and everything was done by the law," Mr Barlow said.

The clinics are mostly in high-end shopping malls and had some high-profile patients.

"Personally I've never known anyone more passionate about his profession and staff," Mr Barlow said.

"The company was structured correctly … there was no problem until this witch hunt."

Indonesian authorities have cracked down on chiropractic clinics following the death of Jakarta woman Allya Siska Nadya​ after she was treated for neck pain at an unrelated clinic last year.

The American practitioner who treated her, Randall Cafferty​, has reportedly fled the country.

It was subsequently revealed that in 2013 Mr Cafferty had been placed on three years' probation by the California board of chiropractic examiners for "unprofessional conduct" and "conviction of a crime".

Jakarta police detective chief Krishna Murti said a taskforce was set up with Jakarta police and Jakarta manpower, health and immigration officers after Ms Allya's death.

Police have reportedly closed down 20 clinics across the city, including the Chiropractic Indonesia clinics.

There is no suggestion any patients were harmed at Chiropractic Indonesia clinics.

Well-known tropical garden designer Made Wijaya, an Australian who has lived in Bali for decades, said the Dawson brothers were "healing wizards".

"From my perspective, poor Tony and his brother have been caught up in a witch hunt generated by the tragic accident with the poor girl," he said.

"Why would Tony open clinics at high profile places such as Pacific Plaza if he had doubts about his legality? It would be reckless. It seems unfair what is happening to our boys."

Democratic governance consultant Paul Rowland said the arrests were a personal tragedy for the Dawsons. "The closure of the clinics has left thousands of clients to live with back pain," said Mr Rowland, who was a patient.

"It also sends a message that Indonesia is a risky place to do business and to innovate. It is never a good sign when administrative issues are criminalised​. Prospective foreign investors could be forgiven for being scared away."

Head of the law enforcement unit of the South Jakarta Immigration office Toto Suryanto​ said it appeared as though there was a problem with the work permit of Thomas Dawson.

"In the work permit it says he was a consultant. In reality he is also helping with giving services to the patient," Mr Toto said.

Foreign legal consultant Peter Fanning said chiropractic practice was categorised as traditional health in Indonesia: "Traditional health is an activity that is limited to 100 per cent Indonesian ownership."

He said foreigners could work as advisers in chiropractic clinics in Indonesia but not practise.

Senior Commissioner Krishna said the men could be detained for up to 20 days at a Jakarta police station – with the option of an extension – before being handed over to the Jakarta prosecutor's office.

with Rania Spooner

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The story Jakarta arrests of Australian chiropractors Thomas and Anthony Dawson raise concern first appeared on The Sydney Morning Herald.

Source: Jakarta arrests of Australian chiropractors Thomas and Anthony Dawson raise concern

Australian brothers working 'illegally' in South Jakarta tried to evade police by escaping through office roof

Jan. 28, 2016, 10:25 p.m.

Two Australian brothers who ran a chain of chiropractic clinics in Indonesia have been arrested for allegedly working illegally.

Two Australian brothers who run a chain of chiropractic clinics in Indonesia have been arrested for allegedly working illegally.

Jakarta police detective chief Krishna Murti said Thomas and Anthony Dawson tried to escape through the roof of their office in Permata Hijau in South Jakarta when they were arrested on Wednesday night.

Senior Commissioner Krishna said they did not have the correct work permits.

He said the brothers, who had opened five Chiropractic Indonesia clinics in Jakarta, could face up to five years in jail.

The clinics, most of which were in upmarket shopping malls, have been closed.

Senior Commissioner Krishna said the men could be detained for up to 20 days at Jakarta police station - with the option of an extension - before they are handed over to the Jakarta prosecutor's office.

Police have cracked down on chiropractic clinics in Indonesia following the death of Jakarta woman Allya Siska Nadya in August last year.

Ms Allya died after she was treated for neck pain at an unrelated chiropractic clinic in Jakarta by American practitioner Randall Cafferty, who has since fled the country.

There is no suggestion any patients were harmed at Chiropractic Indonesia clinics.

On the Facebook page of Chiropractic Indonesia Pacific Place Clinic, dated January 7, Anthony Dawson, wrote that patients may have heard of "a death of a young lady that may or may not have been related to chiropractic care".

"Although she was not a patient in our clinic, our hearts go out to that family and we hope they find resolve."

Mr Dawson, who police said was the director, wrote that the profession had been established since 1895 and was in all major countries. "We think that this incident is more related to an individual who should not have been practising anywhere in the world."

Mr Dawson wrote that he encouraged patients to make sure their friends who went to other clinics had standards of the high level patients received from Chiropractic Indonesia.

"In Chiropractic Indonesia, our doctors are qualified with adequate experience, plus degrees and we have working permits to work in Indonesia."

Head of the law enforcement unit of the South Jakarta Immigration office Toto Suryanto said it appeared as though there was a problem with the work permit of Thomas Dawson.

"In the work permit it says he was a consultant. In reality he is also helping with giving services to the patient," Mr Toto said.

Senior Commissioner Krishna said the Australian Federal Police had been contacted after the men were arrested.

"This afternoon AFP will come to see us. We have to coordinate with them, we want to get more information," he said.

Senior Commissioner Krishna said a taskforce was set up with Jakarta police and the Jakarta manpower, health and immigration ministries after Ms Allya's death.

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The story Australian brothers working 'illegally' in South Jakarta tried to evade police by escaping through office roof first appeared on The Sydney Morning Herald.

Source: Australian brothers working 'illegally' in South Jakarta tried to evade police by escaping through office roof

Hot Issue: The Islamic State’s Attack in Jakarta: Progeny, Profiles and Prospects for a Southeast Asia Province

Publication: Volume: 0 Issue: 0

January 27, 2016 04:40 PM Age: 51 min

Category: Terrorism Monitor, Hot Issue, Featured, Southeast Asia, Home Page, Global Terrorism Analysis

Location of Sarinah-Starbucks terrorist attack in Central Jakarta on January 14 2016 (source: Gunawan Kartapranata via WikiMedia)

Executive Summary

This Hot Issue discusses the attack that the Islamic State commanded and claimed in Jakarta on January 14, 2016. It looks at the "progeny" of the attack, namely the mastermind, Barhun Naim, and the Katibah [Brigade] behind the attack, the "profiles" of the attackers and their past and present roles in jihadism in Southeast Asia, and the "prospects" for Islamic State to announce a Province in Southeast Asia, including factors that weigh both in favor of and against it. Finally, in the conclusion, this Hot Issue evaluates some of the effects of a growing Islamic State presence in Southeast Asia for rival jihadists in al-Qaeda, for regional actors and organizations, and for Indonesia's counterterrorism strategy.

Progeny: Bahrun Naim's Katibah Nusantara

On January 14, 2016, five militants carried out coordinated attacks in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The targets included a shopping mall and a Starbucks located near UN and diplomatic facilities. The Islamic State claimed the attack on Twitter accounts, via its Al-Amaq news agency, and on its official Telegram channel.

Indonesian intelligence believes the mastermind was a Syria-based Bahrun Naim, a militant from Central Java, Indonesia. The international money transfer the attackers received from Syria came from the Bahasa Indonesian- and Malaysian-speaking faction of the Islamic State called Katibah Nusantara, led by Bahrun Naim and comprised of anywhere from 300 to 700 militants (smh.com.au, January 16). Nusantara is a historical name for maritime Southeast Asia encompassing parts of southern Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Philippines.

Al-Qaeda under Osama Bin Laden had wanted to unite Nusantara under one jihadist banner. With the demise of Jemaa Islamiya, Bin Ladin's death, and Bali-bombing mastermind Umar Patek's arrest all occurring in 2011, in conjunction with the shift in allegiances of former pro-al-Qaeda jihadists in Southeast Asia to the Islamic State starting in 2014, the Islamic State has been able to do what al-Qaeda could not. With the Jakarta attack, Bahrun Naim made a case to lead the Islamic State's prospective Nusantara Province, going by the name Wilayat Nusantara.

Profiles: Behind Bars, Abroad, and Bureaucracy

One of the four suicide bombers in the attack in Jakarta was Afif (alias Sunakim). Similar to Bahrun Naim, he was previously arrested for terrorism offenses; he had trained in an "Al-Qaeda in the Veranda of Mecca" camp in Aceh under Jemaa Islamiya founder Abubakar Baasyir in 2010. Both before and after Afif's imprisonment, he was under the influence of the formerly Jakarta-based leader of Tauhid Wal Jihad (TWJ), Aman Abdurrahman. Aman Abdurrahman, who is now in prison in Central Java for funding the camp in Aceh, remains active on social media sending out pro-Islamic State messages to potential supporters, such as Afif (Reuters, January 19; Jakarta Post, June 14, 2014) [1].

Less than one month before the attack in Jakarta, Bahrun Naim appeared on the radar of Indonesian intelligence services. In December 2015, a would-be suicide bomber in West Java admitted to receiving $600 from his Hong Kong-based wife, who was also an immigrant worker and funder of Katibah Nusantara (Time.com, December 18, 2015). Clearly, the relatively high salaries for low-skilled labor in Hong Kong and the other three "Asian Tigers" (South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore) - as well as in Japan and the Gulf states - has provided a fundraising mechanism for pro-Islamic State supporters to finance their "unemployed" jihadist brethren in Southeast Asia (Metrotvnews.com [Seoul], November 20, 2015).

At the same time the failed suicide bomber was arrested in December 2015, a Chinese Uighur named Alli (alias Abu Muzan) was also arrested in West Java after entering the Indonesian island of Batam from Singapore (and Thailand and Malaysia before that). Alli was part of six-man cell including two other Uighurs. They were planning suicide attacks ordered by Bahrun Naim on Indonesian government officials, Shia mosques, and Christian churches. (Detik.com, December 25, 2015; Rappler.com, January 7).

In 2014, four other Uighurs with fake Turkish passports were also detained in Sulawesi after attempting to join Mujahidin Indonesia Timor (MIT), whose leader, Santoso, pledged baya (loyalty) to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014. This suggests that Bahrun Naim may be among the driving forces behind the Islamic State's outreach to Uighurs and Mandarin-speaking Muslims since 2015. It may also explain why Indonesian authorities consider Bahrun Naim a candidate not only for a leadership role in the Islamic State's Southeast Asia operations, but also for Central Asia's (Straits Times, September 16, 2014) Jakarta Post, January 18).

Thus, one of Bahrun Naim's strengths is his unparalleled ability to connect Indonesian ideologues (Abubakar Baashyir, Aman Abdurrahman), militants (Santoso), jihad aspirants including in the online space (Afif), small-scale funders (immigrant workers) and regional networks (Uighur militants) to execute an attack like the one in Jakarta on January 14. Moreover, Naim seems to understand Islamic State "bureaucracy": the Islamic State's immediate and unequivocal claim of the attack in Jakarta suggests Naim informed, as well as received approval from, Islamic State leaders before ordering the attack. On a blog he resuscitated one week after the November 2015 Paris attacks, Naim also conducted an analysis of "lessons learned" from the coordinated acts of terror, suggesting he may have used Paris as a template — and inspiration — for his Jakarta plot.

However, Naim failed to reach the scale of Paris. Despite broad media coverage of the attack in Jakarta, "only" two foreigners (and five attackers, including four suicide bombers) were killed, compared to more than the 130 people killed in Paris (Malaysiainsider.com, January 16). However, had Alli's cell not been disrupted in West Java, the attack in Jakarta may have incorporated his cell and their targets, and therefore could have brought about a greater number of fatalities.

Prospects: Regional Aspirations Shift to Southeast Asia

Considerable evidence exists in 2016 that the Islamic State is preparing for an "expansion" in Southeast Asia following its 2015 extension into Africa. However, there appears to be significant stumbling blocks in the way the Islamic State accepts Southeast Asian pledges of loyalty.

The first explicit sign of the Islamic State's interest in expansion to Southeast Asia was in Dabiq 5 in November 2014. On page 24, the Islamic State wrote that members in groups in Khurasan (Afghanistan), the Caucasus, Nigeria [Boko Haram], the Philippines and Indonesia pledged allegiance to leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but the Islamic State would only accept pledges from groups that satisfied two conditions:

Members and factions are united in making the pledge; and

A single leader is recognizable

The groups in Khurasan, the Caucasus and Nigeria all publicly pledged to al-Baghdadi between March 2015 and June 2015, and were accepted as the provinces of their respective namesakes. The public pledges from the groups in Indonesia and Philippines, however, are still unrecognized by the Islamic State. From the Philippines, such pledges include:

Imprisoned members of "Harakatul al-Islamiyah" (an alternate name for Abu Sayyaf) on July 2, 2014, who were able to smuggle the video out of the prison with a prisoner's wife;

Isnon Hapilon's faction of Abu Sayyaf on August 2, 2014 (Rappler.com, August 2, 2014); and

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) in August 2014 (Inquirer.net, August 22, 2014)

From Indonesia, as many as 30 jihadist factions and leaders have pledged baya to al-Baghdadi, including Bahrun Naim, Santoso, Abubakar Baasyir (although he may have recanted his support before the attack in Jakarta in early 2016), and Aman Abdurrahman.

Yet, it is possible that neither the jihadists in the Philippines nor Indonesia fulfill the two conditions to become a province as delineated in Dabiq 5, due to the lack of unity among Indonesian and Philippine jihadists. For the Islamic State to continue the narrative of "expansion" and that it is "always winning," it would need prominent attacks in the wake of a creation of a Southeast Asian province or provinces; neither Philippine nor Indonesian jihadists group — at least until the attack in Jakarta — have consistently shown.

Another factor constraining the announcement of a Southeast Asian Province is the lack of a consistent and unified media effort between the Islamic State and Abu Sayyaf, MIT, or any other group based in the region, similar to how the Islamic State fully harmonized and upgraded Boko Haram's media in advance of its pledge in March 2015 [2]. Since 2014, Abu Sayyaf has adopted some trademarks of Islamic State media, including videos with group pledges to al-Baghdadi, the black-and-white rayat al-uqab flag of the Islamic State with the inscription of "Soldiers of the Caliphate" on it, and a training video that was promoted online by Islamic State supporters. However, these productions lack the "official" branding of Islamic State media as well as other Islamic State markers, namely nasheed soundtracks and Hollywood-style special effects, suggesting that any media harmonization is presently incomplete for Abu Sayyaf, let alone MIT, whose media is still less advanced than that of the aforementioned group.

Nonetheless, a turning point for the Philippine jihadists can be seen in a video disseminated on January 14, 2016, likely coordinated with the Jakarta attack. In the video, Isnilon Hapilon appears once again in a loyalty pledge as leader of the Basilan-branch of Abu Sayyaf, along with Abu Anas Al-Muhajir of the Ansar al-Shariah Battalion and Abu Harith al-Filipini of the Marakat al-Ansar Battalion in Sulu. They promised to make the Philippines "a graveyard" for American soldiers (Straits Times, January 20). The three leaders featured together could suggest that Abu Sayyaf is now unified under the leadership of Hapilon, and that Abu Sayyaf is closer to meeting the Islamic State's condition for baya as outlined in Dabiq 5.

Nonetheless, whether Abu Sayyaf can evolve into the Nusantara Province (or a "Mindanao Province") may hinge on Bahrun Naim. Naim's advantage over Hapilon is that he has now carried out an internationally high-profile attack in the name of the Islamic State, and apparently has the ear of Islamic State leaders in Syria. However, Hapilon, like all other Provincial leaders, is based in the territory that he represents, Mindanao, as opposed to residing in Syria like Naim. Hapilon has deeper roots in jihadism than Naim, fostered by his leadership role in Abu Sayyaf since at least 2010 when it maintained close ties with al-Qaeda. He has also overseen the shift in loyalty of Abu Sayyaf from al-Qaeda to the Islamic State, which further supplements his leadership credentials.

Ultimately, the Islamic State's leadership in Syria will decide if and when to announce its expansion into Southeast Asia. The attack in Jakarta serves to confirm and legitimize the Islamic State's potential announcement. Evidenced by the messaging coming from Southeast Asian groups like Abu Sayyaf and MIT and Southeast Asians in Syria like Naim, but also by the December 26, 2015 audio release of al-Baghdadi in which he urged support for mujahidin "brothers" in the Philippines and Indonesia (as well as Bangladesh), Southeast Asia certainly remains on the Islamic State's radar.

Conclusion

As 2016 unfolds, further information on the Islamic State's narrative and military strategy for Southeast Asia will emerge. The Islamic State does not need another attack in the region imminently, as the Jakarta attack already has heralded its entrance into Southeast Asia. The Islamic State will need to further embed itself in the region, however, via a media assault to capitalize on the attack in its wake; otherwise, it will appear as a sporadic threat and thus, a sign of inconsistency and weakness.

The Islamic State is facing struggles in Africa amid the resurgence of AQIM and al-Shabaab as countervailing forces - including the groups' killing of former Islamic State militants and religiously challenging al-Baghdadi's Caliphate. The Islamic State, as a result, may attempt further advances in Southeast Asia through the establishment of a province, notably setting up a province in a region where Al-Qaeda is now relatively weak due in part to neglect of the region by Bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri. In addition, the continuation of setbacks in Syria and Iraq could propel the Islamic State to shift to Southeast Asia and offset reports of its "losing" elsewhere. Nonetheless, the relationships between the Islamic State and either Abu Sayyaf or MIT (or possibly a unified front of the two) are too unclear at this point for either to take on the mantle of a Southeast Asia Province. If such is the case, the Islamic State — perhaps under Bahrun Naim — will need t o carry out further "diplomacy" with these two groups to coordinate where their narratives and attacks can more consistently promote the objectives of the Islamic State "core."

The Islamic State's expansion into Southeast Asia will not be without reaction and repercussions. Ayman al-Zawahiri coincidentally issued a statement in his "Islamic Spring" series on the same day as the attack in Jakarta, suggesting that after several years of "ignoring" Southeast Asia, al-Qaeda may try to rejuvenate its own networks in the region. Similarly, the opening up of an Islamic State front in Southeast Asia could compel ASEAN — and certainly China — to become more active in counterterrorism in the region, especially considering the role of Uighurs in Indonesian militancy.

The nations of the "Nusantara" region will also likely have to reform their counterterrorism strategies in light of the holes that the Islamic State's attack in Jakarta exposed: namely, ineffective de-radicalization programs as evidenced by recidivism in terrorism, the use of social media for recruitment including by leading ideologues in prison such as Aman Abdurrahman, and the inability of the intelligence services to uncover the Syria-masterminded attack on Indonesian soil.

Jacob Zenn is a Fellow of Eurasian and African Affairs for The Jamestown Foundation. Mr. Zenn is an alumnus of the US State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Critical Language Scholarship for advanced Indonesian language in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. He has written on militancy and extremism in Indonesia and southern Philippines for The Jamestown Foundation since 2010.

Notes:

[1] Navhat Nuraniyah, "Aman Abdurrahman: Indonesia's Most Influential Extremist," Militant Leadership Monitor, The Jamestown Foundation, http://mlm.jamestown.org/feature-single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=44935&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=539&cHash=d11a7a8bc67836c57add380ebc73730f

[2] The Islamic State did not harmonize the media of "Khurasan" or "Caucausus" Provinces before their pledges, so this is not necessarily a pre-condition for a pledge.

***

Interested in reading what else Jamestown has written on terrorism in Southeast Asia?

The Maldives: Losing a Tourist Paradise to Terrorism

Indonesia's New Counter-Terrorism Challenges

Islamic State's Sri Lankan Outreach

From Jemaah Islamiya to Islamic State: Marwan's Mission Ends in Mindanao (pay wall)

This month's issue of Militant Leadership Monitor (to be released February 1, 2016) will include profiles of Santoso and Mujahideen Indonesia Timur, also known as East Indonesian Mujahideen.

Source: Hot Issue: The Islamic State's Attack in Jakarta: Progeny, Profiles and Prospects for a Southeast Asia Province

Jakarta attacks sabotaged Abu Bakar Bashir's bid for freedom, lawyer says

Abu Bakar Bashir's lawyer has forcefully denied the radical Indonesian cleric had anything to do with the Jakarta terror attacks, declaring them an attempt to sabotage his client's bid for freedom.

Radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir in court in Cilacap on January 26. Photo: Amilia Rosa

Abu Bakar Bashir (far right) in court. Bashir's lawyer has denied Bashir had anything to do with the Jakarta terror attacks. Photo: Amilia Rosa

Barbed wire fences off the street outside the Cilacap court where Abu Bakar Bashir is facing trial. Photo: Amilia Rosa

A blocked-off street and two water cannon trucks outside the court where Abu Bakar Bashir's trial is taking place in Cilacap, Indonesia. Photo: Amilia Rosa

Supporters of radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir wait outside court in Cilacap. Photo: Amilia Rosa

Police line up outside the Cilacap court where Abu Bakar Bashir's trial is taking place in Cilacap, Indonesia, on Tuesday. Photo: Amilia Rosa

A queue outside Abu Bakar Bashir's trial on Tuesday. Photo: Amila Rosa

exit

Jakarta: Abu Bakar Bashir's lawyer has forcefully denied the radical Indonesian cleric had anything to do with the Jakarta terror attacks, declaring them an attempt to sabotage his client's bid for freedom.

"He has no knowledge of the situation, he has no knowledge of anyone who was involved with the attack," lawyer Adnan Wirawan said outside court.

Mr Wirawan said the January 14 terrorist attacks in Central Jakarta that killed eight people damaged Bashir's struggle for freedom.

The extremist preacher, who inspired the Bali bombers, is seeking a judicial review of his 15-year sentence for supporting a terrorist training camp in Aceh.

"The one who was involved in the attacks, not only does he not have any relationship with Abu Bakar, we believe he is Abu Bakar's opponent, one who hates Abu Bakar," Mr Wirawan said.

"Whoever is doing it, his actions sabotage our purpose."

He said Bashir had responded "like ordinary people" when he learned of the terrorist attacks, asking: 'Why did he do it?'. "It's against his beliefs."

Security, already tight at Bashir's last court appearance in the seaside port town of Cilacap, was further enhanced in the wake of the Jakarta blasts. There were 1500 security personnel, a local school was closed for the day and the roads blocked with barbed wire. Trucks with water cannons blocked the streets near the court..

Bashir was initially convicted of conspiracy over the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, but his conviction was quashed after he served 26 months' jail.

However he was arrested again in 2010 and jailed for 15 years for supporting a militant training camp in Aceh.

He is seeking a judicial review on the grounds he was actually donating money to support the Palestinian cause in Gaza.

"Witnesses will testify that Abu Bakar did not fund the military camp, he does not have anything to do with it," Mr Wirawan said.

The gunman photographed roaming the streets wearing a Nike cap, jeans and sneakers during the deadly assault, Sunakim (alias Afif) also served prison time for his role in the military training camp in Aceh.

Mr Wirawan said Bashir had no memory of Sunakim although he may have been one of his students at one time.

"What we have in Thamrin is just an act of suicide, it has nothing to do with the way Abu Bakar preaches about peace and about Islamic State," he said.

"His idea about Islamic State is without violence – that is what we are trying to argue in this court hearing."

In 2014 Bashir pledged allegiance to Islamic State behind bars on Nusakambangan island, although another of his lawyers said earlier this month he no longer supported the extremist movement.

"He did in the past because he did not know what ISIS was," Achmad Michdan told Fairfax Media.

"Now after he knows what ISIS is he does not support it anymore. He only supports anyone or any organisation who supports the upholding of the Koran and Hadith."

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The story Jakarta attacks sabotaged Abu Bakar Bashir's bid for freedom, lawyer says first appeared on The Sydney Morning Herald.

Source: Jakarta attacks sabotaged Abu Bakar Bashir's bid for freedom, lawyer says

Jakarta police chief calls for more security cameras after terror attack

JAKARTA: Establishments in Jakarta have been urged to evaluate their security systems to be better prepared to deal with any possible future terrorist attack.

Jakarta police chief Tito Karnavian met security personnel at major buildings shortly after the terror assault on Jakarta on Jan 14, and he noted that one of the security weaknesses in the Indonesian capital is the lack of closed circuit television cameras or CCTV.

"One of the weaknesses in Jakarta is the lack of digital security, in terms of CCTV," said Inspector-General Tito. "We don't have an expansive CCTV (system). I encouraged the governor of Jakarta Pak Ahok to produce a CCTV system and he agreed this year to provide some 6,000 or 7,000 points of CCTVs."

Besides using technology to beef up security, men on the ground are also important.

In Jakarta, there are hundreds of thousands of security guards or "satpams", outnumbering the 32,000 police officers in the capital. The satpams provide an essential security layer and they have been urged to work more closely with the police.

Security checks, common in almost all office buildings, shopping malls and major hotels, are handled by the satpams, with many of them doing their duties in a friendly, unintimidating manner.

Security personnel at major buildings say another area that can be improved is their intelligence-gathering ability, as satpams have no power to make arrests.

"We cannot underestimate a security incident in whatever form; we have to be alert," said Wardjono, head of security of the Indonesian Shopping Centre Management Association. "Any intelligence received from the malls is passed as soon as possible to the police as our powers are limited."

In the wake of the Jakarta attack, establishments have also been urged to provide more relevant training to their security officers.

"I want them also to understand about the specific characteristics of the terrorists' operations, terrorist groups," said Inspector-General Tito. "I want them also to work together more closely with other security systems, security managers, and build a network amongst them."

Inspector-General Tito said terrorists would evaluate the security systems of their targets before launching any attack, and the ones with weak systems would be the ones most vulnerable to a strike.

Source: Jakarta police chief calls for more security cameras after terror attack

Man Accused Of Financing Jakarta Attacks With ISIS Funds Arrested

Karnavian has said the attackers were part of a group led by Bahrum Naim, an Indonesian militant who is now reported to be in Syria.

There had been warning signs of a possible emerging threat for months, including government acknowledgement that hundreds of Indonesians had traveled to Syria to fight for the IS group. On Friday evening, police searched the home of another of the dead bombers whom they identified as Muhammad Ali.

In recent weeks, Indonesian police have been on high alert, while military operations focus on hitting the East Indonesian Mujahadeen, helmed by Indonesia's most-wanted terrorist, Santoso, who has pledged support for ISIS.

Jakarta police said Thursday's attack was funded by the Islamic State group.

He said one of the 12 had received funding from Bahrun Naim, who is fighting for Islamic State in Syria, through a transfer through Western Union.

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The Indonesian Catholic bishops' conference has not issued a statement about the attack yet but "we at the commission see the incident as being a lesson for us", said Father Siswantoko.

Indonesian police said five - not four - attackers and two other people were killed in explosions and gunfire Thursday in downtown Jakarta.

The dual Algerian-Canadian citizen shot by militants was named as Tahar Amer-Ouali, while the sole Indonesian killed, Rico Hermawan, was being fined by the police when the attackers blew up a traffic post.

All of the attackers were killed either by their suicide vests or by law enforcement. The terrorist group known as the Islamic State, or IS, claimed responsibility for the attacks. "We are investigating what exactly the money was used for", Haiti said.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesian police said Saturday they have arrested 12 people suspected of links to the Jakarta bombings.

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The area near the Starbucks cafe remained cordoned off with a highly visible police presence.

The twelve arrested in the sweep across Java and Indonesia's half of Borneo were associates of Naim, the police chief said.

"Fortunately, the lethal impact of the Paris attack is not easy to replicate - as the Jakarta attack shows - as training, casing of targets, timing and execution are skills that need to be acquired".

Indonesians are visiting the site of Thursday's attack, leaving flowers and messages calling for prayers and national unity.

Newspapers carried bold front-page headlines declaring the country was united in condemnation of the attack, which was the first in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, since the hotel bombings in 2009. "It was just a Paris-inspired attack without being well-prepared", he told The Associated Press.

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Jones, speaking from Singapore, told VOA the arrests made by police in November and December likely meant a significantly smaller casualty count, but that such an attack was inevitable as "there's been activity brewing for some time".

Source: Man Accused Of Financing Jakarta Attacks With ISIS Funds Arrested

Man accused of financing Jakarta attacks arrested

Returning to the area outside Jakarta's oldest department store, Sarinah, where Thursday's attack unfolded, the city's police chief said the rise of Isis was a cause for serious concern.

Experts agree that there is a growing threat from radicalised Muslims inspired by Islamic State, some of whom may have fought with the group in Syria. Until now, the group was known only to have sympathizers with no active cells capable of planning and carrying out a plot such as Thursday's in which five men attacked a Starbucks cafe and a traffic police booth with handmade bombs, guns and suicide belts.

Police had earlier put the toll of victims from Thursday's assault at two, but raised it with the latest death and confirmation that an Indonesian man originally suspected of being a militant was actually a civilian. Some 20 people were injured. At the same time, pro-IS rallies in Indonesia were attracting small crowds.

Khalid said three other people suspected of being supporters of Islamic State were arrested this week at Kuala Lumpur airport after they returned from Turkey.

Police confirmed that Isis was responsible and named an Indonesian militant, Bahrun Naim, as the mastermind.

Police conducted raids across Indonesia but was it unclear whether those arrested were suspected of links to the bombing or if police were rounding up militants as part of a broader crackdown in its aftermath.

The Islamic State group claimed the attack was carried out by its "soldiers" against citizens from the "crusader coalition", referring to the US-led alliance combating the jihadists.

But the language and cultural commonalities of Katibah Nusantara followers could help keep fighters in the fold and provide an enduring tool for coordinating attacks across South-east Asia and recruiting more fighters to Syria, analysts said.

In Western capitals, Indonesia has always been a kind of poster child for progress: a developing nation with the world's largest Muslim population that has embraced both democracy and moderate Islam.

There was a spate of militant attacks in Indonesia in the 2000s, the deadliest of which was a nightclub bombing on Bali that killed 202 people, majority tourists. "Their arms were pretty limited", said Scott Stewart, a tactical analysis expert at Stratfor, a global intelligence and advisory firm. Creating an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in a city of 10 million amplifies the impact of the attack well beyond the actual loss of life.

Stewart considers the association with IS a "rebranding" effort by militants who previously identified with al-Qaida, rather than a sign of a new and rising radical movement. A police vehicle and a half-dozen officers were seen guarding the French embassy near the attack site.

"The president has said the nation and the people should not be scared and should not be defeated by acts of terror", said palace spokesman Ari Dwipayana.

Afif, who also uses the alias Sunakim, had trained in an Islamic paramilitary camp in Indonesia's semi-autonomous Aceh region in 2010, national police chief Badrodin Haiti told reporters. Two dozen other people were wounded - three foreigners, six police officers and the rest Indonesian civilians. While that could play into the aims of the attackers, it could also pin responsibility on foreign influences and skirt questions about Indonesia's domestic counterterrorism strategy.

"His vision is to unite all Isis supporting elements in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines", Jakarta police chief Karnavian said.

The Jakarta attack, following the extremist assaults in San Bernardino, Paris and Istanbul, suggests that the ability of IS to direct or inspire attacks around the world is building, he said. "Be patient, when the case is closed and things are clear we will disclose them".

Source: Man accused of financing Jakarta attacks arrested

Indonesian police foil three more possible terror attacks after Jakarta blasts

JAKARTA: Indonesian police have foiled potential terror attacks in at least three locations, days after the capital was hit by bombings and gunfights that killed eight people and injured dozens, Jakarta police chief Inspector-General Tito Karnavian revealed in an exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia on Friday (Jan 22).

The plots were hatched by seven people, who are among 13 suspects arrested in various provinces following the mid-day attack on Thamrin Road in central Jakarta on Jan 14.

The group, according to Inspector-General Tito, was preparing to execute their own mayhem when arrested.

"Henro is the leader of the other cell. He also got a plan to attack other targets. The timing is likely to be different," he said, adding the suspects were still in the process of determining their targets.

"It seems to us that the plot of attacks by this cell – Henro's cell – is in the stage of survey."

The group had already acquired guns from a prison in Tangerang, Banten province on the western tip of Java, with the help of a convicted terrorist, the police chief said. One revolver and eight pistols had been smuggled out of the prison.

"When our officers went to Tangerang prison to try to confirm about the handguns, they were all, in fact, quite shocked because they didn't know that nine guns had been stolen and already disappeared from their storage," Inspector-General Tito said.

"According to them, it was the first time they were aware that the handguns had been stolen by the inmates."

'LONE-WOLF CELLS'

The current network of terror cells in Indonesia is structured yet flexible and operates at the grass-root level, according to the police chief.

He also cited Indonesian counter-terrorism squad Densus 88, which believes the Islamic State militant group is trying to create "lone-wolf cells" to allow the terror network to continue plotting attacks even if one or two cells are destroyed.

"Now, we've got reasons to crack them down. Before, even though some of these networks had already been identified by us, but since they had not committed any crime, what we could do was only seeing and monitoring them. No law enforcement could be charged on them," the police chief explained.

A week after the latest terror attack on Indonesia, Inspector-General Tito said there is sufficient evidence to charge all 13 suspects. More arrests are also expected, as police press on with the crackdown on Indonesia's terror network. 

Watch the interview on Channel NewsAsia's Primetime Asia on Friday (Jan 22) at 7pm (SG/HK).

Source: Indonesian police foil three more possible terror attacks after Jakarta blasts

Jakarta attacks: Indonesia vows to strengthen anti-terror laws

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, centre, visits the site of last week's terror attacks in Central Jakarta. Photo: Supplied

Jakarta: The Indonesian government has vowed to tighten anti-terrorism laws in the wake of Jakarta's deadly attacks but it faces a delicate task given the history of repression under the Suharto regime.

President Joko Widodo said there was an urgent need for police to be given more power to take preventative action.

People carry an injured police officer near the site where an explosion went off at a police post in Jakarta last week. Photo: AP

No decision had yet been made but Mr Joko said one popular option was to strip Indonesians who commit a terrorist attack of their citizenship. Proposed changes include prohibiting Indonesians from joining radical groups such as Islamic State overseas and greater powers to detain suspects.

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"We think there should be preventative and pre-emptive measures so that we will have authority to take action against those who return from Syria for instance," National Police spokesman Anton Charliyan said after the January 14 terror attack.

Under existing Indonesian laws it is not a crime for Indonesians to go to Syria and join Islamic State or to hold meetings in support of IS.

A woman lays flowers outside the Starbucks cafe where last week's attack took place in Jakarta. Photo: AP

Terror suspects can only be arrested once they have committed a crime.

"Police must be able to arrest someone when there is even a small indication of a possible terrorist act," said Adhe Bhakti from the Jakarta-based Centre for Radicalism and Deradicalisation.

"For instance, a farmer who piles up five kilograms of nails, ten kilograms of sulphur and another ten kilograms of fertilisers at his house. What would a farmer do with nails and sulphur? Right now, the police cannot arrest someone even though they find this stuff at his place. The police can only arrest him if he has put the stuff together into a bomb."

The head of Indonesia's National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Sutiyoso, also complained after the attacks that the agency didn't have the power to arrest or detain anyone.

However the legacy of the authoritarian Suharto regime means Indonesians are very wary of the degradation of civil liberties.

"The deliberate degradation of the criminal justice system under Suharto meant courts became a branch of government and that people were often detained without a proper trial," said Tim Lindsey Director of the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society at Melbourne University.

"This meant that having an open criminal justice process and avoiding arbitrary detention were among the key demands that the reform movement made after Suharto. These are still issues of great sensitivity in Indonesia."

For this reason Dr Lindsey said he did not believe the Jakarta attacks would have as much effect on the government as people outside Indonesia expect they would.

"I don't think we should over-estimate the impact this will have on policy," he said.

Mr Joko said the government would consult with the parliament and other state agencies before a decision was made.

"Everything is still under discussion," he said. "It could be a revised law, it could be a government regulation, it could be a new law on [terrorism] prevention."

Terrorism expert Sidney Jones said she believed a narrowly focused law banning support for IS, training in conjunction with IS and travel to IS-controlled areas would be preferable to amending the 2003 anti-terrorist law.

"I also think it would be more politically palatable," she said in Tempo.

Ms Jones said the National Intelligence Agency should not be given arrest and detention powers.

"More actors will not improve counter-terrorism efforts but likely fuel counterproductive competition and duplication of effort," she said.

Eight people, including militants, died as a result of the January 14 attacks that began with a suicide bomb inside a Starbucks outlet in Central Jakarta. Of the 28 wounded in the attacks, nine are still in hospital.

- With Karuni Rompies

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Source: Jakarta attacks: Indonesia vows to strengthen anti-terror laws

Jakarta attacks: Starbucks worker Aldi Tardiansyah escaped a suicide bomber

Seventeen-year-old Aldi Tardiansyah was just two weeks into his first ever job as a security guard at Starbucks in central Jakarta when a man grabbed his left arm last week.

Aldi Tardiansyah freed himself from the grasp of a suicide bomber. Photo: Ikhwan Yanuar

Starbucks in central Jakarta. Photo: Supplied

Traffic police officer Suhadi and his pregnant wife, Sri Rejeki. Photo: Ikhtan Yanuar

exit

Jakarta: Aldi Tardiansyah was just two weeks into his first ever job as a security guard at Starbucks in central Jakarta when a man grabbed his left arm last week.

Startled, the 17-year-old high school graduate saw the man gesture to his stomach. Wrapped around his waist was a bomb.

"I was patrolling inside the cafe. Soon after a man tried to grab me. When he showed me I knew it," Aldi recounts from his home in Bogor outside Jakarta.

Aldi screamed "Bomb!" and pulled away. The man pushed the button. Aldi was thrown several metres, his left ear damaged in the blast. Pieces of shattered glass struck his thigh, throat and stomach.

His would-be assassin was later revealed to be 25-year-old Ahmad Muhazan bin Saron, 25, one of the four terrorists linked to Islamic State who carried out the deadly attacks in Jakarta on January 14. Saron only managed to blow himself up.

"I feel terrified because if I hadn't released myself I could have died," Aldi says. Later that day three other terrorists and three civilians were also killed.

For the first three days after the attack, Aldi fainted every day. He was discharged on Monday but still wears the hospital bracelet.

His sleep is fractured, but he says he doesn't dream. Aldi is an orphan. He lives with his grandmother, Atik Sarmini, who weeps silently by the bedroom doorframe of her tiny, airless house, and worries about the medical bills.

Dr Musyafak, the head of Jakarta Police medical and health division, assures her the government will take care of the bills.

Ms Sarmini hears Aldi crying in his sleep: "Oh my God, Oh my God". "He jumps every time the door bangs," she says.

Aldi replays the event in his mind. It was 10.40am on a Thursday: the Starbucks cafe at the base of the Skyline building was buzzing as usual.

Oddly Thamrin road outside the cafe – normally one of Jakarta's most congested thoroughfares – was quieter than usual. Now Aldi is glad about that. If it was busier more could have been killed.

When the bomb went off the cafe filled with smoke and screams. Aldi struggled up and dragged three bodies out of the cafe.

"I'm not the only who wanted to be saved," he says. Aldi insists he is not afraid and wants to return to his job at Starbucks. He is grateful for the #KamiTidakTakut (We are not afraid) social media campaign that sprung up after the attacks.

"It means we are not afraid of terrorists," he says.

It was only after viewing the CCTV footage later, that traffic police officer Suhadi realised how imperilled his life had been. The gunmen were thirty metres away from him. He had clearly been in their sights.

At the time Mr Suhadi had been trying to call an ambulance while simultaneously trying to stop traffic heading towards the Sarinah shopping mall.

"They were not afraid, they even tried to come closer to the site," he marvelled. "If I was not a police officer I would stay away. These people were just looking, like it was a performance."

A man, who Mr Suhadi now believes was the eighth victim of the attacks, Rais Karna, warned him that there were many victims at Starbucks.

Mr Suhadi was facing the famous Hotel Indonesia roundabout.

He saw a colleague duck and instinctively copied him. The bullet hit Mr Karna. "Because of the gunshot I tried to run away and tell people to disperse," Mr Suhadi said.

"I felt heat on my back and thought I might have been shot but I just kept running," Suhadi said.

People were shouting: "There is blood on your back!" The bullet had lodged in his side.

Eventually a motorcyclist took Mr Suhadi to hospital. He was paranoid the terrorists were continuing to chase him, even ordering a nurse to hide his uniform. It was only when officers from the forensic division arrived that Mr Suhadi felt safe.

Mr Suhadi's wife, Sri Rejeki, is due to give birth next month. The family understand the risks of his job, Mr Suhadi says.

"I am not afraid. I earn a living from doing this job, my happiness comes from this job. It is just a risk of doing this job."

Of the 28 wounded in the attacks, nine are still in hospital. One – Bangkok Bank employee Rais Karna – died of gunshot wounds to his head on Saturday night. He was in a coma when admitted to hospital after Thursday's attacks and never recovered.

Dr Musyafak believes the loss of life could have been greater were it not for a carefully orchestrated police strategy to send the victims to eight different hospitals.

"Someone's life and death is the hands of God but if they had been in one hospital medical staff would have had too much work to do," Dr Musyafak said.

"Treat them, talk to the media, deal with the families ... If you take them to different hospitals you have more time to treat them better."

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The story Jakarta attacks: Starbucks worker Aldi Tardiansyah escaped a suicide bomber first appeared on The Sydney Morning Herald.

Source: Jakarta attacks: Starbucks worker Aldi Tardiansyah escaped a suicide bomber

Jakarta Terrorist Attacks: The Threat From The Islamic State – Analysis

The Jakarta terrorist attacks signal the extension of Islamic State operations to Southeast Asia. The threat of an IS province in the region is likely to continue for over a decade.

By Barry Desker*

Jakarta was rocked by two bomb explosions in Jakarta's business and shopping district on Thursday 14 January, accompanied by an attack on a police post and a Starbucks outlet using improvised grenades and home-made handguns. Four attackers were killed as well as four civilians and more than 20 persons were injured. The Indonesian police as well as the propaganda machinery of the Islamic State (IS) have claimed that followers of IS were responsible. Although the intention was to cause mass casualties like the Paris attacks in November 2015, the lack of training and inadequate weapons resulted in minimal damage.

One significant lesson which could be drawn is the importance of developing societal resilience. Ordinary people as well as celebrities and politicians in Jakarta sharply criticized the attacks. Unlike previous attacks from 2002 to 2009, they broadcast messages on social media condemning the attacks, drawing attention to the incompetence of the perpetrators, and stressing their solidarity with the victims. If the intention was to cause ordinary people to cower in fear, the attackers failed.

Islamic State responsibility

The Islamic State (also known as ISIS or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Indonesian police chief said that the attacks were planned by the Islamic State in Syria through Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian national. Bahrun is now in Syria but spent a year in an Indonesian jail in 2011 for illegal possession of weapons. In follow-up raids, 12 people were detained in West Java, East Java and East Kalimantan. Weapons and ammunition were seized. For Southeast Asians, the IS claims of responsibility are significant.

A recent RSIS study discussed the establishment of Khatibah Nusantara, a dedicated Southeast Asia military unit within IS which used Malay/Indonesian for communications and formed a separate fighting unit in Syria. Khatibah Nusantara captured five Kurd-held territories in April 2015. Led by an Amir, identified as Abu Ibrahim al-Indunisiy, the unit appears to be led mainly by Indonesians but Malaysians are active within the group. This development highlights IS' intention of building a regional network intended to support the establishment of a province (wilayah) of IS in Southeast Asia. The emergence of IS and its claims to have established a caliphate have therefore had an impact on Southeast Asia. The threat will continue over the next decade. Hence, it is important to understand how IS rose to prominence.

How IS rose to prominence

The American anti-Baathist policy following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 resulted in the removal of civil servants who had served Saddam's administration as well as the exclusion of military and intelligence officers from the new administration set up in Iraq. This decision is critical in understanding the effectiveness of IS in Iraq. Today, former military officers and bureaucrats from Saddam's Iraq are the core of IS in Iraq, which controls vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq.

In Syria, Bashir al-Assad financed, armed and trained al-Qaeda activists who crossed the border to attack the Americans from 2005 until the American withdrawal from Iraq. Growing numbers of al-Qaeda supporters pledged allegiance to IS following the proclamation of a caliphate by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the establishment of the Islamic State on 1 Ramadan (29 June 2014). IS now controls significant territory in eastern Syria. American officials claim that Bashir's forces attack moderate Muslim oppositionist forces and avoid confronting IS. The reality is that IS represents the alternative to Bashir's cruel regime but Bashir's forces concentrate on the weaker of the forces opposing his regime. An escalating Sunni/Shia civil war is taking place and no easy options exist.

Even if concerted action by Western powers and their allies results in the re-taking of IS-held territories in Iraq and Syria, the idea of the Islamic State has captured the imaginations of sympathisers seeking a return to an imagined pristine way of life in the seventh century. Libya, which has emerged an arms supermarket for North and West Africa, could easily morph into the new centre for the caliphate.

Impact on Southeast Asia

Three conclusions may be drawn regarding the impact of these developments on Southeast Asia. First, trends in the Middle East have exerted a growing influence in recent years. Competition between an al-Qaeda offshoot, the al-Nusra Front and IS, has been replicated in the region. Singaporeans have joined the growing numbers of Southeast Asians who have journeyed to Syria and Iraq to participate in the conflict.

The claim of the IS-proclaimed caliphate to have oversight over Muslims around the world has strong emotional appeal and resonates with many Muslims, even in Southeast Asia. While the number of such adherents is small, the willingness to engage in armed attacks and cause mayhem on the streets results in regional governments paying close attention to those influenced by the effective propaganda of IS spread on social media.

While Muslims are a minority in Singapore, for IS, Singapore is seen as the heart of the archipelago. When the al-Qaeda affiliated Jemaah Islamiyah earlier developed a network to establish an Islamic state (Daulah Islamiyah Nusantara) linking Malaysia, Indonesia, southern Philippines and southern Thailand, it included Singapore. With the rise of the Islamic State, a more potent threat will exist in the decade ahead.

Secondly, the challenge to Muslim religious leaders in the region arising from more radical versions of Islam emerging in response to conditions in the Middle East has been a recurrent theme in Southeast Asian history. In 1803, Wahhabi-inspired returned Minangkabau pilgrims from West Sumatra launched the padri revolts against the traditional elite (uleebalang) and Sufi-inspired leaders in the matriarchal society of West Sumatra. Questioning the more traditional Sufi practices in the region scholars and religious teachers returning from Arabia sought a return to the practices of Islam in the seventh century.

Thirdly, acts of terrorism and political violence in the region will occur. Governments are now more alert but it will be difficult to eliminate all threats by IS followers in the region operating in clandestine cells. Attacks in the region have been by organised groups so far. If regular attacks occur, there will be a sense of insecurity and a threat to public order. Members of the public will have to get used to a larger police presence, precautionary measures such as baggage checks and searches of vehicles and the closer monitoring of contacts with religious militants. However, such movements will not overthrow governments. The risk is that governments in Muslim majority states may adopt policies intended to win over those who view the religious agenda of IS positively, even if they disagree with its methods, resulting in increasing religious intolerance in the region.

*Barry Desker is Distinguished Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He was Singapore's Ambassador to Indonesia from 1986 to 1993. An earlier version appeared in The Straits Times.

TOPICS:IndonesiaIslamIslamic StateSecuritySoutheast AsiaTerrorism
Source: Jakarta Terrorist Attacks: The Threat From The Islamic State – Analysis

Quebec premier says Burkina Faso, Jakarta deaths strengthen resolve in terrorism fight

QUEBEC -- Nothing can explain barbaric attacks on people who were simply working to build a better world, Premier Philippe Couillard said Monday, referring to the seven Quebecers killed in recent terror attacks.

A Montreal-area man died Thursday in Jakarta while six people from the Quebec City area were slain during a siege in Ouagadougou late Friday.

The premier said the fight against terrorists must continue, all without compromising core values of freedom, democracy and tolerance.

"These actions also strengthen our resolve to fight these barbarians with all our strength, alongside our allies," Couillard said, adding the attacks were a stark reminder that violence that seemed so distant in the past can touch people at home.

"We live in a troubled world," he said. "Smaller too. Everything is now so close to us."

Flags were lowered to half-mast at the provincial legislature in honour of the seven.

Tahar Amer-Ouali, 70, a father of five and a hearing-aid specialist, was killed in Jakarta in an attack by militants tied to the Islamic State group, while six Quebecers on a humanitarian mission were killed in Burkina Faso's capital during a terrorist attack carried out by al-Qaida.

Four of the dead were from the same family: Yves Carrier, his wife Gladys Chamberland, their adult son Charlelie Carrier and Yves' adult daughter, Maude Carrier.

The others who died were their friends, Louis Chabot and Suzanne Bernier.

They were among at least 28 people killed when terrorists stormed a hotel and cafe in the African country's capital of Ouagadougou.

Couillard said there's a feeling of helplessness in the face of such heinous, gratuitous acts.

"Nothing can explain that one attacks the people who contribute by dedicating themselves to building a better world," Couillard said.

"This attack against them is also an attack on us all."

Four of the six killed in Burkina Faso were previous or current employees of a Quebec City school board, where friends and colleagues of the victims were struggling to deal with their deaths.

Classes were cancelled Monday for students at Jean-de-Brebeuf and Cardinal Roy high schools, both part of the Commission scolaire de la Capitale school board in Quebec City.

Erick Parent, the board's secretary-general, told a news conference that support was being offered to friends and colleagues of the victims.

While there were no classes, doors remained open to students. A dozen psychologists were also on hand to help staff deal with their grief and prepare to respond to students in the coming days.

"It's a tragedy," he said. "What we must do is support our employees, and also our students, who are affected by the hundreds through the teachers they've frequented in recent years."

He said the board's 5,000 employees and 28,000 students will hold a minute of silence on Tuesday before classes begin.

"I think things will have to be handled delicately," Parent said of the discussions to follow.

Yves Carrier was an assistant principal before his retirement and Bernier had been an administrator at two elementary schools before she retired.

Chamberland, a civil servant, worked for Quebec's Natural Resources Department, while Charlelie was a student.

Maude Carrier and Chabot were secondary school teachers as of Friday.

A mother of two, Maude Carrier had a twin sister and husband who both worked as teachers at the same board.

Source: Quebec premier says Burkina Faso, Jakarta deaths strengthen resolve in terrorism fight

Is The Jakarta, Indonesia, ISIS Terrorist Attack’s Death Toll The Only Reason There’s No ‘Pray For Paris’-Level Response?

A recent ISIS terrorist attack in Jakarta, Indonesia, with a death toll of eight has received a relatively subdued global response as opposed to the Paris shooting that took place in November, reported BBC News.

Social media users and some voices in the media have begun to speak out against the lack of an outpour of public support for Indonesia, with many wondering why the "Pray for Jakarta" hashtag isn't reaching the same ubiquity.

@saucybobcat is there a block in people's minds that only lets them care about something when it affects a thing theyve heard about before?

— tyler pörtner (@saucybobcat) January 14, 2016

@saucybobcat or know how to pronounce?

— tyler pörtner (@saucybobcat) January 14, 2016

Many will remember similar criticism about several terrorist attacks that had taken place in the lead-up to the tragedy in Paris. Nearly a year prior to the Indonesia incident, one particularly bloody one in Kenya suddenly became a center of international conversation — after ISIS hit Paris.

Seven months prior to the mass murder in France, a university in the African country suffered a brutal shooting and bombing that left 147 dead. While it was certainly still an international news event, it did not receive nearly the amount of public attention or international response. Many decried it as an example of a Western-centric viewpoint, one that, in this case, put a different value on human lives based on their nationality and the setting's perceived security.

A similar sentiment has started to emerge about Jakarta, one that has critics asking, "Why so much less outrage when ISIS hits Indonesia?" One possible explanation is the mere comparison in carnage. Terrorists managed to kill eight citizens in total in the Indonesian capital, leaving just under two dozen others injured. In contrast, the Islamic state's efforts in Paris had a death toll of 130 and left more than 350 injured.

Indonesia is reeling from a bloody terrorist attack claimed by ISIS with a death toll of eight, (Photo by Oscar Siagian/Getty Images)

In the comparison between the Kenya and Paris attacks, some argued that there were several reasons for the distinct responses. ISIS was a common enemy of both the United States and France, as opposed to by the Al-Shabab. Furthermore, the assault was directed toward what is perhaps the U.S.'s biggest ally and also a city Americans are familiar with. At least the former could be said for the Jakarta attack; though Indonesia is, culturally, more distant from both countries.

Still, Jakarta has just found themselves facing the same threat as the U.S. It seems an opportune moment to show support for the Asian Pacific nation, yet Judith Jacob, an expert on Indonesian extremist groups, tweeted that doing so might actually play into ISIS' intentions.

We play into IS' narrative when we write that haphazard, low casualty Jakarta attack contributed to an unstoppable global expansion project

— Judith Jacob (@judithpjacob) January 15, 2016

In Foreign Policy, Benjamin Soloway wrote that it wasn't even clear that citizens were the targets in Indonesia and that its mastermind Bahrun Naim is actually the head of Katibah Nusantara — the nation's own extremist group that is "linked" to ISIS. That led Jacob, who also spoke with FP, to caution conflating the terrorist attacks.

"This was a brazen attack in Central Jakarta during lunch hours, but the casualty figures remain astoundingly low. It didn't have the same level of indiscriminate firing that we saw in Istanbul or Paris… But it still begs the question: How much has this been an Indonesian jihadist capitalizing on events that have happened recently in Paris to further the ambitions of an inward-looking jihadist movement within Indonesia?"

Despite a higher death toll, some have wondered by Indonesia's ISIS attack has not generated the same response as terrorism in Paris. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Moreover, the publication also noted that the Jakarta terrorist attack might have had more to do with police crackdowns on extremist groups in Indonesia than the global mission of ISIS itself. Around 16 domestic terror suspects have arrested in the past month.

[Image via AP Images]

Source: Is The Jakarta, Indonesia, ISIS Terrorist Attack's Death Toll The Only Reason There's No 'Pray For Paris'-Level Response?

Jakarta Attacks: Convicted Militant Named As Attacker

"Police raided several locations in the early hours of Friday morning" and made arrests in the Jakarta suburb of Depok, NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports.

Police have said they suspect he is now in Raqqah in Syria's south.

Authorities said several accounts had been found on social networking website Facebook expressing support for Thursday's attack in Jakarta's commercial district, which killed seven people including five militants, and injured around 30 others.

The country had been on edge for weeks over the threat posed by Islamist militants, and counter-terrorism police had rounded up about 20 people with suspected links to Islamic State. State police say they suspect an Indonesian man allied with ISIS planned the attack from Syria.

The PNP raised the alert level status of its forces nationwide on Thursday, immediately after the deadly bombings in Jakarta, described by Indonesian President Joko Widodo as a terror attack.

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The funds were driven through Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant arrested in 2011 for illegal arms possession, the police chief told reporters.

"I am not afraid of terrorists because life is in Allah's hands, and today is Friday so, God willing, nothing bad will happen", said Toto Suhadi, 52, a gardener watering plants near the attack site. On Friday evening, police searched the home of another of the dead bombers whom they identified as Muhammad Ali.

ISIL has claimed the attack that rocked the Indonesian capital.

Experts say that while it's hard to know how much of a foothold IS has established in Indonesia, the attack achieved two things: It showed that domestic militant groups are still capable of violence despite being fragmented by the government's counterterrorism campaign; and gave at least the impression that IS now has the ability to launch attacks in Southeast Asia.

Still, police believe that an Indonesian IS fighter, Bahrum Naim, who is in Syria may have inspired and instigated the Jakarta attack.

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The attackers were killed subsequently, either by their suicide vests or by police.

Police spokesman Anton Charliyan said another attacker, whose name was not revealed, was also a former terrorism convict.

Indonesians were shaken but refusing to be cowed a day aft...

In the course of six years without a major terrorist attack, Indonesia had grown more and more confident that it had stayed on top of any threat from Islamic militants. The group claimed responsibility for the blasts in online statements, but analysts said the attack caused significantly less damage than other coordinated attacks attributed to the group, such as the November rampage in Paris that left 130 dead. "Indonesia is a strong state".

"A large screen atop the building containing the Starbucks displayed messages that said "#prayforjakarta" and "Indonesia Unite".

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Source: Jakarta Attacks: Convicted Militant Named As Attacker

Three suspects arrested in Jakarta terror attacks

A police officer gives a hand signal to a squad mate as they search a building near the site of an explosion in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016.

The police chief said six grenades and one big bomb failed to be exploded in Thursday's attack. An additional 20 people were wounded.

It recalled comparisons of reactions to recent Paris attacks and wrote: "Like Lebanese citizens after the attacks in their capital, many Indonesians today asked themselves, 'Hey Facebook, where's our safety check?'" His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al- Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cable of condolences to the Indonesian President.

A hotline has also been established for the Vietnamese people to contact in case of emergency, according to Ambassador Tuan.

In the Paris attacks, some eight armed men killed 130 people when they struck at various public venues on November 13.

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An audacious bomb and gun attack on Westerners in the heart of Indonesia's capital was funded by ISIS, police said Friday after arresting three men on suspicion of links to the plot, seizing a militant flag from the home of one suspect.

But when Thursday's assault in central Jakarta was over, the death toll was much lower.

UNEP chief Achim Steiner said the organization "condemns in the strongest possible terms these senseless acts of terror". Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling shopping... "[Thursday's] attack was a wake-up call", says Ansyaad Mbai, the former head of Indonesia's counterterrorism force.

Haiti added that while Naim is believed to be the mastermind of the attacks, police suspect a broader support apparatus in the country. Black armoured cars screeched to a halt in front of the Starbucks and sniper teams were deployed around the neighbourhood as helicopters buzzed overhead.

He was apprehended by Indonesian authorities in 2010 for illegal possession of ammunition and was brought to justice, the police chief said.

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Islamist militants from those three countries have a record of working together and several Malaysians are known to have carried out suicide attacks in the Middle East.

Australian Attorney-General George Brandis, who was in Jakarta recently to bolster security coordination, told the Australian newspaper he had "no doubt" Islamic State was seeking to establish a "distant caliphate" in Indonesia.

The federal government updated its travel advisory for Jakarta in the aftermath of the attacks, advising Canadians to remain vigilant, follow the advice of local authorities and avoid the city's downtown area.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, the vast majority of whom practise a moderate form of Islam.

Instead of highlighting that our region has Starbucks and McDonald's stores and its people do not live in trees, I wish the worldwide media emphasized that the world's largest Muslim country just suffered an abominable assault that may have been inspired by the Islamic State (IS) group.

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The Islamic State group "is very sophisticated and professional in their militancy, in every sense of the word", said Liow.

On Tuesday, a Syrian suicide bomber killed 10 German tourists in Istanbul.

Speaking to reporters at the same hotel in London, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry echoed him.

Earlier, Bahrum Naim, an Indonesian believed to be fighting with IS in Syria, was named as the suspected co-ordinator. "This is an indication that he has been learning from the Paris attacks and he has studied the strategy", he said.

Tweets from the account of Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, described a bomb and "serious" exchanges of gunfire on the street outside his Jakarta office. "But it is a possibility".

Source: Three suspects arrested in Jakarta terror attacks

Islamic State 'definitely' behind Jakarta attack

"Islamic State fighters carried out an armed attack this morning targeting foreign nationals and the security forces charged with protecting them in the Indonesian capital", Aamaaq news agency, which is allied to the group, said on its Telegram channel.

Charliyan said that the group had earlier issued a cryptic warning, saying there would be a "concert in Indonesia", which had prompted police to beef up security ahead of New Year celebrations. Police added that around twenty people, including an Algerian, were wounded.

Witnesses to the carnage also on Thursday said a powerful explosion ripped through a branch of U.S. coffee giant Starbucks before at least one gunman emerged and began shooting at bystanders, reloading his weapon as police flooded the streets.

Suicide attackers struck the Indonesian capital on Thursday, with a series of explosions and gunfire that tore through a Starbucks cafe and shook an embassy district in the Muslim-majority nation.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Thursday's attack in central Jakarta left residents in Indonesia's capital in fear for about five hours, until police said the area was secure.

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"ISIS is behind this attack, definitely", he told reporters.

It "sounds like the Paris attack to me", Baer said.

The entire episode lasted about half an hour, Douglas said, and took place in a busy part of Jakarta's downtown that is populated with many offices, hotels and embassies.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said the attack should "strengthen our resolve to work effectively together to combat the scourge of terrorism".

The attackers responded with grenades and fired back, the police spokesman said. Later, Jakarta police spokesman Col. Muhammad Iqbal said four of the attackers were killed, and their bodies retrieved.

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It also confirmed that all its Jakarta stores would be closed until further notice.

Jakarta police are searching for other suspects in the attack.

A candlelit protest has been held in Surabaya, Eastern Java island to condemn the attacks.

It is not yet clear what group was behind the assault, which President Joko Widodo called an "act of terror".

Gunshots were heard after the midmorning explosion in front of the Sarinah shopping mall and a police station.

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"It's less than one-and-a-half kilometres to the palace, it's basically where the centre of government is", he said. "It was right across the street, kitty-corner to the office, about 100 metres", the 44-year-old told The Canadian Press. Terrorists haven't had the capacity to mount any major attacks since 2009, when suicide bombers attacked the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.

Indonesia has been wary of the danger of Islamist militants in recent weeks.

Two alleged sympathizers of the Islamic State were arrested January 9 in Indonesia by the national police anti-terror squad.

Source: Islamic State 'definitely' behind Jakarta attack