Police Chief Says 56 Indonesian Citizens Have Joined ISIS in Iraq

Iraqi security forces fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the outskirts of the town of Udaim in Diyala province on June 22, 2014. (Reuters Photo)

Jakarta. National Police chief Gen. Sutarman has confirmed on Sunday that there are at least 56 Indonesian citizens who have joined the jihadist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS.

“They did not directly go to Syria or Iraq but to neighboring countries and then they sneaked into Syria and Iraq,” he said.

The National Police chief added that he had received the information from Syrian and Australian intelligence sources.

Sutarman said those who had joined ISIS were aged between 20 and 30 years and where from across the archipelago, including East Java, Central Java, Bima in West Nusa Tenggara, Bengkulu and Lampung.

“Mostly are from Solo. They went there claiming to be students or humanitarian workers to cover their real intentions. So, when they return to Indonesia they will also use illegal means,” he said.

He said the police would watch those anticipated to return.

“When they come back they could get involved in terrorism here. We have seen this happen with Indonesians coming home from Afghanistan,” Sutarman said.

Last week, a video was briefly posted on YouTube before being taken down featuring a ragtag group of Indonesian men wearing balaclavas exhorting their countrymen to join them in the Sunni militant uprising in Iraq and Syria.

YouTube video

The video appeared before ISIS forces captured the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit on June 10 and 11, reflecting the growing attraction the Sunni extremist group holds for militant jihadists from Indonesia, Time magazine reported.

The men in the video — former soldiers, university students, businessmen and youths — spoke Indonesian.

One of them declared it the will of Allah that Muslims should join the jihad in the region.

Another of the men called on the police and military to repent. He exhorted them to abandon the security forces and refute Pancasila, the state ideology, calling it a pagan ideal.

The foreign ministry says Indonesians who go to fight with ISIS typically come straight from Indonesia, and are not those already living and working in the region.

“Many of them claim they’re heading to another country, particularly a Middle-Eastern one that has no visa restrictions for Indonesians,” said Febrian Alphyanto Ruddyard, the ministry’s director for international security and disarmament.

By Farouk Arnaz on 08:10 am Jun 23, 2014