Islamic Militants: Jakarta Crackdown

[Valin]

The Diplomat Blog:

Indonesia’s Detachment 88 counterterrorism unit has had some big successes this year. But are separatist militants down and out?
Luke Hurt
11/25/10

Indonesia has developed a ruthless reputation over the way it handles Islamic militants. More than 100 alleged terrorists have been captured or killed this year alone in a crackdown headed by the Detachment 88 counterterrorism unit.

The unit’s biggest break came in Aceh earlier this year after militants started trying to cobble together what became known in some quarters as the ‘Coalition of the Leftovers’ on the home ground of Acehnese separatists at the north-eastern tip of Sumatra.

Jihad remnants of the splintered Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and an assortment of other outfits had gathered at a paramilitary training camp in the mountains of Aceh determined to re-group.Among their plans was an attack on the Presidential Palace and state guests who would be gathered there for the Independence Day ceremonies in August.

But the police were tipped off and raided the base on February 22;three officers and one terrorist were killed during the raid. Despite the inauspicious start to the operation, the balance has shifted, with another 13 alleged terrorists killed by police and more than 60 arrested.

Among the dead was Dulmutin, by far the most prominent member of JI, who was also wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali bombings and who carried a $10 million reward on his head.However, Dulmutin’s favoured cohort, Omar Patek, is still at large and was recently sighted on the island province of Tawi Tawi in the Southern Philippines. He’s now probably the region’s most wanted terrorist.

(Snip)

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