Jakarta, hunt on for Islamic State terrorist cells
Jakarta (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Indonesian security forces are hunting the terror cells linked to bombings in Jakarta yesterday, which left a balance of seven dead and 26 injured. The inspector general of police General Karnavian in an interview with the BBC, in which he said that "Indonesians are safe because the perpetrators are a small group that we are monitoring and which we're after." "The attackers - he added - have been neutralized, but are linked to other cells in Java and Sulawesi."
Today, three men were arrested in the vicinity of Jakarta, but it is still unclear whether involved in the attacks. Terrorism experts agree that the small number of innocent victims, despite the high number of explosions, would reveal the hand of local groups with little training.
General Karnavian confirmed the statements made yesterday, that the attacks were carried out by "soldiers of the Caliphate" and were directed against "citizens of the crusading coalition ". This is why the explosions were concentrated in a high density tourist area.
Indonesian authorities say the group is linked to the Islamic state (IS) lead by Bahrum Naim (see photo). According to police, he would like to unite all the groups in South-East Asia under the banner of the Caliphate. He is currently on the run.
Seven years ago, Bahrum Naim ran an internet cafe in the city of Solo (Sukarta) in Central Java. In 2011 he was arrested for illegal possession of weapons and served three years in prison. Since that time it has become the benchmark of terrorist groups on the island. A year ago, Naim left for Syria to fight in the ranks of the IS.
Some time ago, he posted an essay online entitled "Lessons from the Paris attacks", in which Naim encouraged the Indonesian cells to study and imitate the planning, timing and coordination of the attacks of 13 November 2015.
Gen. Karnavian said about 400 Indonesians left for Syria to join the IS, of which 50 have died.
There are an estimated 1000 jihadist sympathizers in Indonesia: a small number when you consider that it is the most populous Muslim country in the world, with 206 million faithful of the Koran (87%).
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