THE Islamic State group has “thousands” of supporters in Indonesia and so far police have identified about 50 Indonesians who have returned home from fighting in Syria.

Indonesia’s National Police Chief, Tito Karnavian, said today that while IS supporters and those who believe the IS ideology may number in the thousands this was still only a tiny minority in the nation of 250 million people.

General Karnavian was speaking on the sidelines of an Interpol General Assembly meeting in Bali, attended by 150 countries and more than 1000 delegates. He said that while the support base was comparatively small it must be remembered that a terrorist attack can be launched with just a handful of people.

General Karnavian said that police were monitoring about 50 Indonesians who had returned home after fighting in Syria, using both soft and hard approaches.

He said he remains confident that Indonesian police are on top of the terrorist issue in their country.

“It (thousands of supporters) is a minority, tiny, compared to 250 million people in Indonesia but you know we have to pay serious attention even though they are small because an attack can be done only with a unit consisting of around five to 10 persons,” General Karnavian said.

Asked about the potential for an attack and whether he was worried, General Karnavian said: “For the time being I think we are on top of them.”

Most attacks planned by terrorists in Indonesia in recent times had been foiled by police and those three which had occurred this year were small-scale and were quickly resolved by police.

General Karnavian said that it was believed about 50 IS returnees were now back in Indonesia and were being monitored by police.

It is believed that between 300-500 Indonesians are currently fighting in Syria and are followers of Indonesian leader Bahrum Naim.

Concerns around the region exist about the potential for attacks when they return home emboldened by IS ideology and new terror skills.

But General Karnavian said his biggest concern was external factors in Syria and Iraq spilling over to other countries like Indonesia.

The General met his Australian counterpart, AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin, for sideline talks at the Interpol conference where the issue of terrorism, people smuggling and human trafficking and transnational crimes were discussed.

The Interpol conference, which officially opened today heard addresses from General Karnavian and Indonesia’s Vice President Yusuf Kalla.

Mr Kalla spoke of the need for a unified approach to fight global terrorism.