Men Arrested in Bekasi Help Indonesian Militants Join Islamic State: Police
Jakarta. Five men who were arrested in the West Java district of Bekasi on Friday (18/11) are suspected of sending Indonesian militants to fight with the Islamic State in Syria, a police source said.
Government officials claim nearly 500 Indonesians had gone to war-torn Syria to join the Islamic State.
Police are questioning the men to see if they are also linked to terrorist networks in Indonesia.
"We arrested them for their involvement in sending Indonesian foreign fighters to Syria to join the Islamic State," a source at the National Police said on Saturday.
Around 40 of the 500 Islamic State militants have reportedly returned to Indonesia — 20 of them are said to have acquired combat experience.
Indonesia has seen a string of Islamic State-linked attacks this year, one of which killed four people in Central Jakarta in January.
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