Authorities say device detonated in Jakarta mall have ‘signature’ of Islamic State and warn that Syrian conflict is providing oxygen to local extremist networks

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Indonesian police have said jihadis returning from Syria were probably responsible for a chlorine bomb planted in a Jakarta shopping centre last month, and warned that the Syrian conflict is providing “fresh oxygen” to local extremist networks.

The explosive was detonated inside the men’s toilets at the ITC mall in Depok, a suburb of Jakarta, on 23 February. No one was injured in the explosion, but police said they were alarmed by the presence of chlorine in the bomb, a new technique in Indonesia.

“It really surprised us because it was the first time ever we have had a chemical bomb, a chlorine bomb,” Insp Gen M Tito Karnavian told reporters at a discussion on terrorism in Jakarta on Wednesday.



Police said the technique had the hallmarks of explosives deployed by Islamic State fighters. “This is the signature of Isis. In Syria they have a lot of incidents with using these kinds of chemical substances,” said Karnavian.

Isis has reportedly been deploying chlorine gas, which is toxic when inhaled, in roadside bombs since late last year.



In Jakarta the makeshift explosive was crafted inside a cardboard box containing wires, batteries, a timer and four bottles filled with chemicals. The chemicals in the device failed to fuse and release the gas, but police said they were concerned that the next attack could be more sophisticated.

“If it had been put in the air-conditioning system you can imagine the impact,” Karnavian said. “It seems to us that is was just an experiment for them and is likely connected to the group just returned from Syria.”



Officials say 159 Indonesian citizens have travelled to Syria to fight, mostly alongside Isis, but acknowledge the number could be higher. Police say 11 have been killed and 11 have returned, of whom three have been arrested.



One concern over returning jihadis is that they might bring home experience gained in the field, including new bomb-making techniques. Fighters also return home with increased standing and clout among hardline networks.

Veteran Indonesian jihadis, such as those who fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s, were behind the deadliest terrorist attacks in Indonesia, including the Bali bombings that killed 202 people.



An estimated 197 Indonesians fought in Afghanistan over a 10-year period. In a matter of a few years the conflict in Syria has drawn almost the same number. Indonesian fighters who join Isis generally fly to Turkey, where they can get a visa on arrival before travelling to the Syrian border.

Terrorism analyst Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, said the Syria conflict illustrated the complexity of extremist ties across the Indonesian archipelago, from former conflict areas to foreign fighters and individuals radicalised in prison.



“The people who are going to Syria,” she said, “are mostly people who are members or linked, directly or indirectly, to existing networks.”



Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country and most follow a moderate view of Islam. Since the deadly Bali bombings more than a decade ago, Indonesian authorities have successfully crippled major terrorist networks, but small-scale networks and returning extremists remain a risk.

Last week the Indonesian Communication and Informatics Ministry blocked an extremist video on YouTube produced by Alazzam Media, the purported Malay-language arm of Isis.

The video shows young Indonesian-speaking children wielding weapons in front on an Isis flag, and reciting verses from the Qur’an in an undisclosed location.



In the past week Indonesia’s anti-terrorism unit has arrested six people believed to be helping to recruit and fund Indonesians to join Isis.

