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Analysis: US terror designations target Islamic State’s Southeast Asian network
On Aug. 24, the US Treasury Department designated three Islamic State recruiters as terrorists. The trio appeared in a June 2016 beheading video that was used to recruit fighters from Southeast Asia. The new designation is the latest in a series of moves taken by the US government to target the Islamic State’s global network with financial sanctions and other measures.
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Authorities say ISIS-linked family conducted suicide bombings at Indonesian churches
According to authorities, an ISIS-linked family carried out suicide bombings at three churches in the Indonesian city of Surabaya earlier today. The bombings came just days after other ISIS-affiliated militants conducted a prison riot south of Jakarta. ISIS has long targeted Christians, among many others. The group previously ruled that suicide attacks aimed at churches were an acceptable way to attain “closeness to Allah.”
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ISIS claims its ‘soldiers’ are responsible for prison riot in Indonesia
The Islamic State claims that its “soldiers” were responsible for a prison riot south of Jakarta, Indonesia yesterday. A police spokesman was quick to dismiss the group’s statements, images and a video purportedly shot at the scene. Instead, he blamed the clash on a fight over food.
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Treasury sanctions ISIS facilitator based in the Philippines
The US government has designated Myrna Mabanza, an Islamic State facilitator based in the Philippines, as a terrorist. The Treasury Department identifies Mabanza as a woman in her mid-20s who has worked with some of the Islamic State’s most senior personnel in Southeast Asia and has also served as an “intermediary” to jihadists in Syria.
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US designates Indonesian-based jihadist group
State’s designation notes that the Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), which is responsible for several terrorist attacks in Indonesia, also has ties to al Qaeda’s branch in Syria.
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Indonesian authorities hunt Islamic State operative’s cyber recruits
On Mar. 30, the US Treasury Department designated Bahrun Naim as a terrorist. Naim is one of the most prolific planners of the Islamic State’s so-called “remote-controlled” attacks. Most of his plots have been thwarted by counterterrorism officials, but he has a broad network of supporters in Indonesia.
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US adds emir of Mujahidin Indonesia Timur to list of global terrorists
Abu Warda Santoso As Syarqi Al Indunisi declared allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi days after the Islamic State emir announced the formation of the caliphate. Santoso has called on Indonesians to attack Special Detachment 88, the counter-terrorism police.
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Islamic State launches suicide assault in Indonesia’s capital
Indonesian police have linked the attack to a jihadist based in Syria. Two jihadists factions in Indonesia, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid and Mujahidin Indonesian Timur, have pledged loyalty to the Islamic State.
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Indian Mujahideen
Indonesian police shoot dead suspected militant
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Indonesia
Ilham Syafii, a suspected terrorist linked to the Poso-based group headed by Santoso, was killed in shootout with police in South Sulawesi. Police said they have convinced a group of Islamic State supporters to cancel a gathering organized by the Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid and slated for Jan. 11 in Semarang, East Java. In December, Malaysian authorities deported 12 Indonesians who were seeking to travel to the Middle East to join the Islamic State. Tourism is down in Aceh after a group of youths broke up a concert at a beach resort on Jan. 1 on the grounds that it violated…
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Indonesia
The US Embassy issued a warning about a security threat to US-linked banks and hotels in Surabaya. Indonesia’s Supreme Court reversed its earlier conviction of Saudi citizen Al Khelaiw Ali Abdullah, who had been found guilty of helping finance the twin terrorist attacks in 2010 on the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in Jakarta. The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre found that a lack of supervision by authorities has allowed financing for terrorist purposes to flourish both at home and abroad in 2014. The number of sea attacks in the Malacca Strait rose from 99 in 2013 to 129…
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Indonesia
Banser, the security branch of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s largest Muslim organization, has established a special unit, Densus 99 Asmaul Husna, to monitor the activities of the Islamic State in Indonesia. The head of Banser said extremist activity had been detected in Lamongan, Banyuwangi, Malang, and Kediri in East Java. President Widodo has asked Nahdlatul Ulama and another large Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, to help counter extremism and terrorism, but has advocated a “cultural approach” rather than security measures. Even so, Widodo has asked the Security Ministry to address the increasing Islamic State presence in the mountainous Poso district of Central…
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Indonesia
Police arrested six people yesterday at the airport in Jakarta, including a couple and their child, as they attempted to fly to the Middle East to join the Islamic State. Following their arrest, counterterrorism police arrested the man who recruited them, identified as M.A., in a house in Cibubur, East Jakarta. The counterterrorism chief has said that 514 people have left Indonesia to join the Islamic State.
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Indonesia
Indonesian editor who published anti-ISIS cartoon is summoned under blasphemy law
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Indonesia
The new head of Indonesia’s counterterrorism agency warned that the number of Indonesians joining the Islamic State has more than tripled since June, and said the total number of Indonesians who have joined the group in Iraq and Syria is about 514. The Jakarta Post’s chief editor was named a suspect in a blasphemy case because the newspaper published an article critical of the Islamic State that carried an allegedly offensive cartoon; the action against the editor came several days after the newspaper had apologized and withdrawn the cartoon.
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Indonesia
Indonesian authorities denied media reports that 350 members of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group are being released from prison, and said in any event there are only about 274 terrorist inmates. Malaysia’s counterterrorism police chief said the releases will take place over the next two years. A human rights group warned that the Nov. 6 shooting attack at the home of reformist politician Pak Amien in Yogyakarta was an attempt at intimidation by terrorists. The Home Ministry has yet to review Aceh bylaws based on sharia law that call for harsh punishments and are applied to Muslims and…
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Indonesia
World Leaders at Asian Meetings Warn on Middle East Extremism
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Indonesia
Jakarta governor calls for hardline group, Islamic Defenders Front, to be disbanded
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Indonesia
Malaysia Memo: The Right to Say ‘God’ Divides a Diverse Nation
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Indonesia
Police arrested 20 members of the hardline Islam Defenders Front (FPI) after more than 10 police officers were wounded during a violent FPI protest in Jakarta. Among those arrested was Irwan, an FPI member who organized the event, which protested against an incoming deputy governor because he is Christian and Chinese. A rights group called for the repeal of Islamic bylaws in Aceh that impose sharia punishments such as whipping on non-Muslims and infringe on basic human rights.
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Indonesia
Detachment 88 counterterrorism forces have arrested four ethnic Uighurs in the Poso district of Sulewesi who had entered the country with fake passports and are suspected of links to the Islamic State. The suspects were reportedly trying to meet with Santoso, the head of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen. Militants in Santoso’s group are thought to have murdered a Poso man they accused of being a spy. The sharia penalty of public caning was imposed in Aceh on nine men for gambling.
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The Islamic State’s global reach
A closer look at recent developments in a number of countries should dispel any illusions that the Islamic State’s aspirations and activities are only regional.
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Indonesia
Does Islamic State ideology threaten Indonesia?
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Indonesia
The Detachment 88 counterterrorism squad arrested Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid leader Afif Abdul Majid, who was added to the US’ global terrorist list in 2013. Majid, who recently returned from Syria, has pledged support to the Islamic State, along with jailed al Qaeda-linked cleric Abu Bakar Ba’asyir. Although the government reportedly banned IS ideology within the past few weeks, groups supporting IS have held meetings in Jakarta, Solo in Central Java, and Bima in West Nusa Tenggara.
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Australia
MH370: New evidence of cockpit tampering as investigation into missing plane continues
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Indonesia
Indonesia bans Hollywood epic ‘Noah’ over Islamic concerns
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Indonesia
Sunni clerics at a mosque in West Java denounced Shiites as heretical and vowed to take any measures to prevent the spread of Shiite teachings. A video was posted on jihadist forums featuring wanted terrorist leader Abu Warda Santoso, the head of the Mujahidin Indonesia Timur (East Indonesian Mujahideen), who incited Muslims to kill members of the Detachment 88 counterterrorism squad, whom he called agents of the US and Australia.
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Indonesia
Islamic Political Parties Make A Comeback in Indonesian Election
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Indonesia
Indonesia’s Islamist parties surprise with strong showing in election
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Indonesia
Islamists in Jakarta and Bekasi recently demonstrated in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. Aceh, a province with 5 million inhabitants, has adopted a bylaw requiring both Muslims and non-Muslims to abide by sharia; sharia authorities are empowered to make arrests; confiscate property; detain suspects for 30 days prior to trial; and impose prison terms, fines, and punishments such as caning. Under the law, Christians would be prohibited from celebrating Communion with wine. The federal government has not yet approved the law. On Jan. 21, Sigit Indrajid, a member of the Negara Islam Indonesia who plotted…
