BriefingAsia-Pacific

Poso: Indonesia’s Latest Front in the War on Terror

Poso: Indonesia’s Latest Front in the War on Terror

DENPASAR, Indonesia -- Soon after marking the first year since 2002 without suffering a large-scale bomb attack, a small town in the middle of the religiously divided province of Central Sulawesi has become the main battlefield in Indonesia's latest offensive in the war on terror.

Seventeen Islamic radicals, believed to be members of the al-Qaida linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) -- Southeast Asia's largest terror group -- were killed during two January police raids in the small town of Poso. Many more were arrested and large caches of weapons were seized in what is the toughest-ever police crackdown in the area.

The events in Poso are a sign of the changed approach of JI, which has momentarily been forced to eschew large-scale attacks in favor of consolidation and recruitment by fomenting sectarian violence.

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