Two anti-terrorism police guard a government building in Jakarta following a terrorist threat in this 2019 file photo. Police have announced the arrest of four terrorist suspects in Sumatra. (Photo: Konradus Epa/UCA News)
Indonesian police have arrested four suspected terrorists in Sumatra, one of whom is thought to have been a regular financial contributor to global jihadist groups.
Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Awi Setyono said the suspects were arrested by an anti-terror squad in Lampung, South Sumatra, on Nov. 6 and 7.Laptops, mobile phones, an air rifle and several books on jihad were also seized.Setyono said the suspects were from two new groups — Isthisod Adira in Lampung province and Imarrudin in Banten province — that have links with Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a notorious Southeast Asian terrorist group that was responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings.According to Setyono, the financial contributor — identified only as I — was arrested on Nov. 7. He joined Jemaah Islamiyah in 2003 and then Isthisod Adira in 2014. He had regularly sent money to fund global jihadist groups since 2015, he said.According to Bruce Hoffman, a global terrorism expert, the estimated number of JI members in Indonesia stands at about 3,000. Most were trained in Afghanistan and the Philippines.