AFP
Indonesian security forces lately announced a series of arrests of high-profile Jemaah Islamiyah suspects. These include Siswanto (Ustad Arif) and Aris Sumarsono (better known as Zulkarnaen), alleged, respectively, to be the terrorist group’s overall head and its longtime operations chief.
Siswanto’s arrest is the second one of a JI leader in as many years, but some reporting suggests he is merely a senior religious figure who headed the committee to select the group’s next emir – or spiritual leader. This year alone has seen the arrest of more than 30 JI suspected members.
All of this is surprising for a group that has been out of the limelight for nearly a decade, during which JI members have stepped back from their campaign of violence. The last bombing perpetrated by JI was a suicide attack in 2011 that targeted a mosque in a police compound in Cirebon.