JAKARTA: The Jemaah Islamiah (JI) has been building a secret armed unit with a growing pool of young militants, raising fears that the terror group is far from being a spent force, said counter-terrorism experts. While the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has hogged headlines, the danger posed by the JI cannot be ignored, said security expert Bilveer Singh. The JI's lack of action over the last eight years does not mean the group has renounced terrorism, he added. Wawan Hari Purwanto, an adviser to Indonesia's National Counter-terrorism Agency, said the JI has been expanding in Indonesia in recent years. Ipac said the arrest of 18 of its operatives since 2014, mostly for firearm offences, and the discovery of a JI weapons factory suggest that the group remains a threat.

Source: The Star May 07, 2017 02:26 UTC