Militants from Indonesia
and Malaysia fighting in Syria have come together on common language and
culture, forming their own military unit and prompting fears of the Islamic
State in Iraq and Syria 's (Isis) expansion in Southeast Asia, a Jakarta
Quoted by Singapore 's
The Straits Times (ST), the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (Ipac)
said 22 members had formed the "Katibah Nusantara Lid Daulah
Islamiyyah" (Malay archipelago unit for the Islamic State) in Al-Shadadi , Syria
The
daily said faced with language barriers, the new unit would make it easier to
recruit Indonesians who could not communicate in English or Arabic.
"This group was formed with a goal to recruit and facilitate people who
want to go to Syria to defend the Islamic caliphate, and also do
counter-attacks against governments that repress caliphate supporters,"
the paper quoted Robi Sugara of the Barometer Institute as saying.
ST also
quoted Ipac's Sidney Jones as saying that unlike Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaeda's
regional chapter blamed for a spate of terrorist attacks in Indonesia , Isis
fighters already had battle experience.
"The cross-regional bonds
established could also be the strongest we've seen in a long time," Jones
told the daily.
She said a check on Facebook revealed that pro-Isis Indonesian
and Malaysians were linking up, and warned that the newly formed Katibah
"could become the vanguard for a fighting force that would reach into Indonesia , Malaysia
and the Philippines
The revelation of the new group comes as Malaysian police reportedly detained
three men who were allegedly on the way to Istanbul
via Doha to join Isis
forces.
Officials in Indonesia
and Malaysia have detected
scores of their citizens fighting for Isis in Syria
22 Malaysians have so far
been arrested for links to Isis , and police
are now tracking down five militants believed to be connected to Isis and Abu
Sayyaf, the Philippines-based terror group.
On September 24, Defence Forces
chief General Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin warned that Isis
was a real threat, adding that the authorities should take action to prevent it
from turning into a major problem.
Referring to the Malaysians involved in
militant activities in Syria
and Iraq , he told Bernama he
was “worried that when they return to Malaysia ,
they will do something that can threaten the safety of the country, especially
after they established a network in neighbouring countries from Syria or Iraq
Meanwhile, a senior
Malaysian intelligence official told The Malaysian Insider on September 22 that
Isis forces were using social media platforms
such as Facebook to enlist fighters from around the world, adding that some 40
Malaysians had been thus recruited.
“Terrorist groups are adapting their
tactics and evolving out of necessity because of far-reaching, multinational
counter-terrorism operations abroad,” the official said.
“The strategy of bringing
like-minded people together via conversational media increases the radicalism
of jihadists.”
On September 14, former PAS member Lotfi Ariffin died in Syria after succumbing to injuries suffered
while fighting alongside Isis forces.
Lotfi
had reportedly been with a group of Malaysian Isis fighters when they were
caught in an ambush by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
Last
month, The Malaysian Insider reported that Malaysian women are believed to have
joined Isis forces to offer what is called
“Jihad al-Nikah” or “conjugal jihad”.
Senior intelligence officials later
confirmed that three Malaysian women had journeyed to the Middle East to join
up with Isis forces.
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