[BenarNews] Indonesia’s arrest of more than 300 suspected bully boyz this year has uncovered just how successfully Jemaah Islamiyah, the group that carried out the 2002 Bali bombings, has rebuilt itself over the last 13 years.
| Between January and mid-November, Indonesian security forces said they arrested 339 people and killed 18 terrorist suspects. This marks a 56 percent increase from 2020. |
Jemaah Islamiyah, or JI, which was banned in 2008, leaned heavily on infiltrating Islamic socio-religious organizations to scout for recruits, gather funds, and even become politically influential via quasi-state religious organizations.
This tactic has complicated counterterrorism operations as crackdowns against members of religious groups are increasingly viewed as targeting Moslems. Stymieing JI’s future would require the government to complement mass arrests with inclusive, grassroots counter-radicalization programs and increased transparency of counterterrorism operations. |