Jailed Indonesian cleric named suspect in 2016 bomb attack

JAKARTA — A jailed Indonesian cleric has been named as a suspect in a suicide bomb attack that killed eight people in Jakarta last year and was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, police said yesterday.

They said Aman Abdurrahman is suspected of masterminding the attack in January last year, which killed four attackers and four civilians.

“He has been officially named a suspect in the Thamrin attack,” said national police spokesman Setyo Wasisto, referring to the street where it took place. He added that Abdurrahman will be charged soon. “We already have sufficient evidence about his involvement in the attack.”

Police have long pointed to Abdurrahman as the architect of the attack, but this is the first time they have officially named him as a suspect.

The assault — the first claimed by IS in South-east Asia — saw dramatic scenes as a suicide bomber blew himself up in a Starbucks outlet and security forces battled gun-toting militants.

Despite being in prison since 2010, Abdurrahman has recruited militants to join the IS, according to the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis and Conflict.

He is thought to have been in communication with leaders of the jihadist group and is the main translator for IS propaganda in Indonesia, it has said.

The cleric was detained by counter-terrorism police on Aug 12, just as he was due for early release from Nusakambangan high-security prison where he was serving a sentence for raising funds for a training camp in Aceh. Abdurrahman, leader of the IS-linked Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, was named a suspect on Aug 18, said Mr Wasisto.

A report by the non-profit international policy organisation Counter Extremism Project said Abdurrahman has radicalised at least 20 of his fellow prisoners, some of whom have carried out terrorist activities following their release.

“Despite incarceration, Abdurrahman has released his extremist sermons via email, Facebook, and in hard copy,” it said, adding that following the Jarkarta attack last year, prison officials moved Abdurrahman into high security cells and barred him from receiving packages from visitors.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, has long struggled with Islamic militancy and has been hit by a series of attacks in the past 15 years, including the 2002 Bali bombings that left 202 people dead.

A crackdown has weakened the most dangerous networks, but fears have grown of a resurgence in militancy after hundreds of Indonesians flocked to the Middle East in recent years to join the IS. The country has seen a surge in plots and attacks linked to jihadists over the past year. AGENCIES