Thursday Bombing a Sign of Radicalisation in Asia

Nikkei Report (Japan)

15 January 2016

The Thursday bombings in Jakarta, which Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for, highlight the growing pockets of extremism even among Asia’s largely moderate Muslim population.

This is the first large-scale attack in Asia with suspected links to the Middle East-based terrorist group.

Indonesia is home to the world’s largest Muslim population. It suffered a number of extremist attacks in the past, leading it to crack down on terror cells in tandem with the U.S. and other countries. It had been somewhat successful in recent years, freezing suspected terrorist assets and arresting key members of Jemaah Islamiyah, the group behind the 2002 Bali bombing.

… The group is communicating directly with Islamic State militants over the Internet and learning new propaganda methods, according to Rohan Gunaratna, head of the Singaporean think tank International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research.

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