Jakarta, 20 July (AKI) - Some 200 Islamist extremists mostly from Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand have enrolled to fight against Israel in the Middle East, a top official of a radical Indonesian Muslim organisation said Thursday. The Islamic Youth Movement's Suaib Didu, told Adnkronos International (AKI) that he was aware of 217 jihadists who were traveling to the Middle East. The Islamic Youth Movement which claims to have 30,000 members is know for its strident anti-American stance. Suaib is also deputy-president of the Asian Muslim Youth Secretariat, of which little information exists. | Sounds like the Hitler Youth, with turbans |
"It is all true. Militants from Malaysia and Thailand departed yesterday. Indonesians will leave soon," Suaib said. | Just leave your names and a DNA sample. That way we can ship your remains home |
He said he had met 12 of the Indonesian militants last week in a house in Jakarta's Tebet district. News of the meeting was first reported on Wednesday by the Detikom Internet portal, which often carries the views of radical groups. Suaib's meeting with the militants was aimed at finalising travel arrangements and to inform the militants on the significance of Jihad, or holy war, he said. "We don't want their jihad to be used later to damage the name of Islam," he said adding that the militant's objective was to bomb Israeli and American targets around the world. "These will not be suicide bombs but jihad bombs," Suaib said. | That's pretty much what we thought jihad meant. I don't think you'll damage our view of islam one bit. |
According to Suaib the militants have chosen to operate under the name "Palestine Jihad Bombing Troops". The group includes 72 Indonesians, 57 Filipinos, 36 Malaysians, 43 Thais, five militants from Brunei, three from Bangladesh and one from Singapore. Some of the militants are veterans of the anti-Soviet uprising in Afghanistan in the 1980s, Suaib said.
He also said that the militants mission has not been sanctioned by the Indonesian government and that the fighters "have no links to the terrorist groups that have caused disarray in Indonesia". "This is purely a fight to help our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon," he said.
In a separate development 90 militants from the Islamic Defenders Front, a group based in Indonesia's Aceh province have also said they are ready to fight in the Middle East and die as "martyrs". |