The Surabaya bombings last week involved women and children. The mobilisation of family units is a worrying sign for the fight against terrorism, say two terrorism experts.

While the involvement of family units is not a new strategy if we look at other terrorist groups, what this new development means is that Indonesian terrorist groups have raised the ante.

Given its territorial losses in Iraq and Syria, and the inability to gain a foothold in Marawi, IS will continue in its attempts to steadily repositioned itself. These manoeuvres attempt to surprise and project sophistication through their efforts to adapt to an evolving terrorism threat landscape.

… Dr Jolene Jerard is deputy head and research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the Nanyang Technological University. V Arianti is an associate research fellow at the same centre.