Policy Research Group - Strategic Insight: Jemaah Islamiyah hand in Jakarta bombings Jemaah Islamiyah hand in Jakarta bombings ================================================================================ editor on 23 July, 2009 04:54:00 Indonesia police are by now convinced that Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) has carried out July 17 bombings at Jakarta’s JW Marriott and nearby Ritz-Carlton. An exploded bomb left in a guestroom of the JW Marriott resembled devices used in the 2005 Bali bombings, according to police spokesman Nanan Soekarna. It also resembled a bomb discovered in a raid on an Islamic boarding school in Cilacap, Central Java last month. Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) has carried out dozens of bombings in Indonesia over the past decade including the 2002 attacks in Bali that left more than 200 dead, mostly foreign tourists. ‘We confirm that the attackers are from Jemaah Islamiyah because there are similarities in the bombs used’, Nanan Soekarna told a press conference in Jakarta. ‘They are from the same school. We found similar tools, similar materials and similar methods’, he said. The Investigators opine that the bombers stayed in Room 1808 of the Marriott and disguised themselves as guests when they walked into crowded dining and meeting areas for two days. The detonations took place at breakfast time. How the attackers had brought the bombs into the hotels remains unclear yet. Both hotels, in fact all Indonesian hotels, where foreigners particularly British and Americans stay, have airport-style security measures. Based on investigations thus far, Indonesia’s anti-terrorism officials point the needle of suspicion to Noordin Mohammed Top, who heads a JI splinter. He is believed to be still in Indonesia, possibly hiding out in central Java. His group is the most violent of the JI factions, and continues to inspire younger JI recruits. A woman identified as Ariana Rahma, whom Noordin has reportedly married, is among the hundreds arrested. She is the daughter of the head of Cilacap Islamic boarding school. Malaysia -born Noordin is the most wanted fugitive in south-east Asia. His network mostly survives in Indonesia and acts through local affiliates which are mostly small groups. His group has a long history of July 18 type attacks. He had targeted Jakarta Marriott once in 2003. He also masterminded the attack on the Australian embassy in 2004 and Bali restaurants in 2005 which have killed more than 40 people. Noordin group has upgraded its skills and tactics, according to experts. Earlier they focused mainly on detonating bombs from outside a targeted place. Now, as is clear from the latest suicide mission, their focus is on smuggling explosives into the targeted site and staying at the very place for a while unnoticed. The coordinated attacks on Marriot and Ritz-Carlton clearly expose chinks in the Indonesian security system. It also means Islamist extremists have found new avenues of survival despite the continuing crackdown. The message from July 18 is therefore a call to return to the drawing board to come up with a new strategy that will target the breeding grounds of Islamists. It is going to be a challenge as the government has to accomplish its task by not annoying the clergy. An expert in Islamic terrorism with the Brussels based International Crisis Group (ICG) Sidney Jones, says Noordin Mohammed Top’s Jemaah Islamiyah has ties with about 50 Islamic where fugitives are sheltered, new recruits are trained and money is raised. These places remain nodes of communication that are critical to keeping the network alive, according to her. She opines that the location of these schools is no secret. ‘Everybody knows where these schools are, but there’s been a sensitivity in dealing with them because people don’t want to see Islamic education stigmatized’, she is quoted as saying in a recent interview. Jemaah Islamiyah stands for creation of a pan-Islamic state across South-east Asia encompassing Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, southern Thailand, Singapore and Brunei. It took its birth some time in the 1980s in Malaysia where it is almost extinct now because of tough laws and tougher enforcement. Initially, JI was like any other political formation though with extremist ideology. Ties with al-Qaeda and its daring 9/11 exploit made the hard-liners gain upper hand in the JI and violence became the creed of the group led by Noordin. Terrorism experts donot rule out the possibility of some coordinated action between JI and the Jihadis of Pakistan in the run up to the July 18 Jakarta bombings. Both groups are known to have their tie-up but these are dormant. Now investigators are trying to find out whether the tie-up is ‘rekindled’ to send a message to a wider audience. The Islamists need finances and recuits as well. Clive Williams of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in Canberra subscribes to this view in particular. He says the bombings may have had a dual purpose - to warn off Westerners and undermine the Indonesian government, but also bolster recruitment and strengthen the splintered group.