JI changing tactics just in time for the holiday season

[bulldogg]

Update
20 Dec 2005
Kidnap threat underlines security risks

National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar on 20 December said that the regional Islamic extremist Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network, which is blamed for the Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005 and at least two other attacks on Western targets, planned to change its tactics of suicide bombing. He said that kidnapping was among the new tactics, adding that foreigners or Indonesian officials would be the most likely targets for abduction.

Siregar’s remarks should not be taken as evidence that a campaign of kidnaps of foreign nationals is imminent. It is the latest in a series of recent reports of evolving terrorist tactics, which have also included threats of shootings and bombings. Nonetheless, clients are reminded that there is a HIGH risk of terrorism in Indonesia. Personnel should maintain a high level of personal security awareness, with individuals who vary their day-to-day routines less likely to be targeted. Personnel should also minimise time spent at possible terrorist targets, including Christian places of worship, hotel lobbies, shopping centres, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Threat from JI

While JI is still capable of staging attacks, it has become increasingly fragmented and its capabilities have been disrupted by the crackdown on Islamic militancy that began following the first Bali bombings. Police on 10 November killed senior JI leader Azahari Husin at his East Java hideout in the biggest blow to the network since the capture in August 2003 of its operations chief, Riduan Isamuddin, who is better known as Hambali. Many suspected JI militants have been jailed and there are regular reports that the group is running low on funds. Nevertheless, JI’s tactics are constantly evolving in response to these and other challenges.

The latest Bali bombings represented a shift away from the large vehicle-borne bombs used in past attacks towards smaller, pedestrian-borne bombs similar to those used by Palestinian militants in the occupied territories and Israel. The discovery in November of the extremist Anshar El Muslimin website provided further evidence that JI’s tactics are in flux. The site was purportedly created on the instructions of Noordin Top, who is the most senior JI figure still at large, and explained how to shoot foreign pedestrians or throw grenades at motorists in the capital Jakarta.

Intelligence officials have been warning of possible terrorist attacks in Jakarta and other cities during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Security has been increased at Christian places of worship in a bid to prevent a repeat of the Christmas Eve church bombings of 2000 that killed 19 people. Jakarta police chief Insp-Gen Firman Gani on 11 December said that 17,000 police, intelligence and anti-terrorist personnel would be deployed at 23 key locations in the capital over the holiday period, including churches, embassies and shopping centres. The country’s largest Islamic organisation, the Nahdlatul Ulama, has volunteered to assist the police in guarding churches where services will be held on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Christmas in the states might be marred by the spectre of political correctness but my in-laws and others like them in Indonesia go to Christmas mass knowing full well that adhering to their faith could very well cost them their lives. Their commitment as Christians in a Muslim country peopled by ignorant hate mongerers has humbled the cynic in me. What has forever been associated with family and pleasant memories is now one of the most tense times as my wife is not as fatalistic as I. If as you settle in with your families this Christmas to celebrate or in Mass or wherever you may be... as you pray each in your own way... if you remember please join in a prayer for people who will also try to celebrate and that it may be free of bombings and kidnapping this year and truly a season of peace.
:|

 

[Ted]

I hear you Bulldogg. I am not the most religious of men but they will pass my thoughts in one of my moments of comtemplation.

And just out of personal interest: where about do they live? I'll be on Java for the second time coming summer and can't wait. I'm 6'2" 175 pounds, blond blue eyed Dutchman so I guess I'll blend in quite well...... at least so I hope!

 

[DTop]

bulldogg, I certainly will remember your in-laws and all the others in Indonesia in my prayers for safe holiday season. BTW where did you find that story?
Ted, I'm sure you have good reason to go there but it sounds like it's not the most stable place to be at the moment. All I seem to hear about in the news from Jakarta is AIDS, bird flu, and now this these days. I will also keep you in my thoughts as well. I hope things settle down before your trip.

 

[bulldogg]

Thank you both.

Ted, I too will be on Java in three weeks. The family lives in East-Central Java in the heart of JI territory so to say I am a bit puckered would be an understatement. I am also a big target hard to miss. I am getting "briefed" daily now by family and friends about do's and don't's.

Top, the story comes from an international private security firm that does risk assessment for global corporations. My former employer was so scared for me going to work in China that he left my account active so I have access to their reports and receive flash bulletins. Unfortunately I can't give a link because it requires 128 bit encryption and username/password. I am forever grateful to my old boss and he has left a soft spot for French Canadians with me.

 

[bulldogg]

It was a peaceful Xmas for Indonesia, I thank you for your prayers.

 

[Ted]

Anytime Bulldog, always good to hear that some things do go right! Nice for change!

 

[Italian Guy]

Christians are targeted by political correctness at home while they are targeted by fanatics and beheaders in many countries of the world.

 

[Ted]

Christ Almighty IG, what are you talking about this time?? I am so glad that you're back and posting. I had these sharpened knifes out on the table for a long time, unable to use them...... I thought they were ment for the X-mas turkey, i reckon I was mistaken

 

[Italian Guy]

Christ Almighty IG, what are you talking about this time?? I am so glad that you're back and posting. I had these sharpened knifes out on the table for a long time, unable to use them...... I thought they were ment for the X-mas turkey, i reckon I was mistaken

Hi Ted. I was talking about Muslim fanatics who behead Christians for their faith in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and some other country. All I did was describe a paradoxical aspect of nowadays' situation.

 

[Ted]

Okay, I'll have to think over that one. Just stopped working with a nice drink afterwards..... so: hold on and I'll get back to it!

 

[bulldogg]

28 Dec 2005
Threat to president underlines security risks

Government spokesman Andi Mallarangeng on 26 December said that security has been stepped up around President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono following threats to his safety. The move comes almost a week after National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar said that terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) may be planning to kidnap senior figures, including high-profile government officials and foreign diplomats.

Although Control Risks does not believe that a campaign to kidnap foreigners is imminent, security risks in Indonesia are HIGH. Personnel should maintain a high level of personal security awareness and minimise time spent at possible terrorist targets, including Christian places of worship, hotel lobbies, shopping centres, restaurants and entertainment venues. To reduce the risk of abduction, personnel should vary their day-to-day routines and keep travel plans confidential. The Christmas period is considered to be a period of heightened terrorist risk. However, clients are advised that risks will persist once the holidays have passed and security procedures should not be relaxed.

Mallarangeng gave no details but said that the presidential guard has implemented new security measures following threats to the personal safety of the president and his family. Access to the president at public engagements has been reduced, for example by stopping ordinary people from shaking him by the hand, but Yudhoyono has vowed to carry out his duties as usual. The president celebrated Christmas on the mainly Christian island of Nias before travelling to nearby Aceh to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 26 December tsunami. Syamsir, speaking on 20 December, said that JI may be planning to kidnap senior figures in an apparent shift from suicide bombings.

The kidnap threat is the latest example of JI reassessing its tactics in response to the government’s counter-terrorism campaign, which has led to scores of arrests since the Bali bombings of October 2002 and disrupted the group’s operational capabilities. The authorities in November discovered an extremist website explaining how to shoot foreign pedestrians and launch grenade attacks against foreign motorists in the capital, Jakarta. The site was purportedly created on the instructions of Noordin Top, who is the most senior JI figure still at large following the death on 9 November of expert bomb-maker Azahari Husin. JI is blamed for the Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005 and at least two other major attacks on Western targets in the country.

3 Jan 2006
Sulawesi market bombing underlines province’s HIGH security risks

A bomb explosion at a Christian market in Central Sulawesi on 31 December killed seven people and wounded 56 others.

Security and travel risks remain HIGH in Central Sulawesi. Control Risks advises clients to avoid all but essential travel to the province. Religious violence has escalated in recent months and militants remain intent on enflaming communal tensions to derail the Malino peace accord of December 2001. The government in November ordered around 1,000 extra soldiers and police to the province following a series of attacks, including the beheading on 29 October of three Christian schoolgirls. Clients undertaking essential travel to Central Sulawesi should be briefed on security issues, maintain a high level of personal security awareness, and minimise the time spent in crowded public spaces, including markets and religious sites.

Bomb attack

The homemade bomb exploded at about 07.00 (local time) in the provincial capital Palu outside a Christian market stall selling pork, which is forbidden to Muslims. The market was crowded with people buying food for New Year’s Eve celebrations. A second bomb was discovered at the scene, but it failed to detonate.

Police detained a 37-year-old man for questioning about two hours after the bombing but he has not been named as a suspect. More than 50 other people have been interviewed since the attack.

Violence in Central Sulawesi

Communal tensions remain high in Central Sulawesi where more than 1,000 people were killed in three years of Muslim-Christian violence until the government-brokered peace accord. Intermittent bombings and shootings continue, and Muslim militias, Christian vigilantes, local politicians and even the police and the military have been accused of either directly or indirectly stirring up tensions.

The authorities have also been criticised for failing to arrest those involved in communal killings, particularly those targeting the Christian community. Christians account for about 8% of the country’s 220m-strong population but for about 20% of Sulawesi’s population. A number of suspects were detained following the May 2005 bombing of a market in the mainly Christian town of Tentena that killed 22 people. However, all the suspects were later released for lack of evidence; no one has been charged in connection with the attack.

This bombing is proof positive to me of the fallibility of the tenet that increased security equals increased safety. Where there is a will there is a way. Ask any cop, if someone wants to commit a crime there is no way you can stop them. Security measures are just to help keep honest men honest and I would hold the same applies in efforts to stop terrorism.

 

[Ted]

This bombing is proof positive to me of the fallibility of the tenet that increased security equals increased safety. Where there is a will there is a way. Ask any cop, if someone wants to commit a crime there is no way you can stop them. Security measures are just to help keep honest men honest and I would hold the same applies in efforts to stop terrorism.

I go along with your line of thinking, just a little adjustment. Higher security measures also deter the amature criminal. You raise the bar at which they decide to commit a crime. But idealogical terrorist won't give a sh#t what you do with them. That guy over in Holland, who murderen Theo van Gogh, started firing at the cops in the hope that they would kill him. (He did look very silly when they watched his confession on tape in court. "When you watch this I'll be dead........." Not!! )