By Krystal Chia and Lin Xueling Posted 03 Aug 2016 17:48 Updated 03 Aug 2016 17:50
ricky lim 12 seconds
Assume this peace talk did not succeed.
What will be the impact?
(1) Civil war continue where multiple factions continue to fight - more death, more casualties, more civilians death. The dire fates in Syria did not change and miseries continue.
(2) Attention will not be focus on ISIS daesh and ISIS daesh strength will continue to grow. What this mean is that more Countries will succumb to ISIS daesh terrorism plots.
(i) Middle East countries will be the nearest and will succumb to more ISIS daesh attacks.
(ii) Europe, US, Russia, Africa will be the next radar under ISIS daesh attacks and Europe will still continue to be burden by Syria refugees.
(iii) Further afar, Countries will also be threatened by ISIS daesh plot.
ISIS is targeting Southeast Asia amid declining Mideast support: Terror expert
- Posted 03 Aug 2016 17:48
- Updated 03 Aug 2016 17:50
The real danger is fighters returning home to the region with the “expertise and experience” to wage war, says Malaysia’s Ahmad El-Muhammady, who has interviewed more than 50 detainees.
SINGAPORE: The self-styled terrorist group Islamic State, or ISIS, is growing its presence in Southeast Asia to make up for losing ground in Iraq and Syria, says Mr Ahmad El-Muhammady, an advisor to the Royal Malaysia Police on terrorist detainees.
In May, officials from the United States Department of Defense said that ISIS had lost about 45 per cent of the territory it claimed in Iraq and about 10 per cent of the land it held in Syria.
“The area controlled by ISIS is shrinking and this has a psychological impact on them. Even among cyber troopers, they ask questions about what’s going on now,” said Mr Ahmad, who is also a lecturer at the International Islamic University, Malaysia.
“How does ISIS maintain the support? They have to go to the second ring of conflict, that is their neighbouring countries, or the third ring of conflict, that is Southeast Asia.”
His comments on the interview programme Conversation With (the episode airs on Aug 4) come against the backdrop of a spate of recent ISIS attacks in the region. In January, seven people were killed in an ISIS-claimed attack in Jakarta.
In June, two men threw an explosive device into a nightclub in Puchong, injuring eight people – making it the terrorist group’s first successful attack on Malaysian soil. Last month, police arrested 14 Malaysians over a suspected ISIS-linked bomb plot; police said they seized a 1kg explosive device meant for use in an attack on top police officials.
The Movida bar after a grenade attack in Puchong, Kuala Lumpur on June 28, 2016. (Photo: REUTERS)
BRINGING THE WAR HOME
ISIS itself has also made it clear that it is targeting Southeast Asia.
Its recent videos called on followers to focus on Malaysia and the Philippines. Indonesian children were shown firing rifles and burning their passports. ISIS launched its first Malay-language newspaper - which Singapore has banned - in June, coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan.
Security intelligence firm The Soufan Group estimates that 700 Indonesians and 100 Malaysians are fighting alongside ISIS in the Middle East. Some of these fighters formed an ISIS subunit, Katibah Nusantara, or the Malay Archipelago Combat Unit, in 2014.
But returning fighters are far more dangerous than those travelling to join ISIS, says Mr Ahmad, who was an expert witness in Malaysia court cases involving terror group Al Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago in 2015.
“When they return home, they will bring their ideology, expertise and experience in war, and they would want to do it (wage war) here," he said.
At least 100 Indonesians who have fought in Iraq and Syria have returned home, sai Indonesia’s intelligence chief Sutiyoso last November.
HOW TERROR DETAINEES THINK
To deradicalise militant detainees, many countries, including Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, have implemented rehabilitation programmes. As an advisor to Malaysia’s programme, Mr Ahmad has interviewed more than 50 terrorist detainees, some as young as 14 years old.
“They would say, ‘I don’t think what I did is wrong’. Lack of religious knowledge or ignorance about Islam causes them to be unable to differentiate between right and wrong,” Mr Ahmad said.
“It is very essential to focus on educating the Muslim generation with the correct understanding of Islam.”
But Mr Ahmad remains hopeful that ISIS can be defeated.
“If the government, individuals and society cooperate with security agencies, and the Muslim intellectuals participate in this, I believe we can reduce the sphere of influence and retake centre-stage,” he said.
Watch the full interview on Conversation With, this Thursday, Aug 4 at 8.30 pm HK/Singapore. View previous episodes here.
- CNA/yv
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