Special to WorldTribune.com
An Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) jihadist instructed his Indonesia cells to launch a Paris-style attack in Jakarta on Jan. 14, police said.
Two people were killed and 24 injured as five terrorists attacked a Starbucks cafe and a traffic police booth with hand-made bombs, guns and suicide vests, Jakarta Police Chief Tito Karnavian said.
All five terrorists were killed in the Jan. 14 attacks. National police spokesman Anton Charliyan told reporters a black ISIL flag was found with one of the Jakarta attackers and police believe they have established their identities.
“We have been informed by our intelligence that an individual named Bahrun Naim, based on the communications … instructed his cells in Indonesia to mount an attack in Indonesia,” Karnavian said.
Naim, who police believe is now in Syria, had been arrested by Indonesian authorities in 2010 for illegal possession of ammunition and was sentenced to at least 2½ years in prison. Upon his release, the terrorist left Indonesia for Raqqa and became “part of the high ranks of ISIL,” Karnavian said.
“He created cells or a branch of ISIL named Katibah al Nusantara. His vision is to join, to unite all ISIL supporting elements in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines,” the chief said.
Indonesian anti-terror authorities said Naim or people posting on his behalf wrote a blog containing posts written in the Bahasa Indonesia language on how to conduct terrorist attacks, lessons learned from the Paris attacks, how to avoid intelligence surveillance, how to make homemade pistols and how to conduct guerrilla warfare in cities.
Karnavian said ISIL is more dangerous than formerly active terror organizations in Indonesia, such as Jemaah Islamiyah and Al Qaida, because its ideology allows it to kill Muslims in a way that previous groups did not.
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