Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Jemaah Islamiya (JI)

aka Jemaa Islamiyah; Jema'a Islamiyah; Jemaa Islamiyya; Jema'a Islamiyya; Jemaa

Islamiyyah; Jema'a Islamiyyah; Jemaah Islamiah; Jemaah Islamiyah; Jema'ah Islamiyah; Jemaah Islamiyyah; Jema'ah Islamiyyah; JI

Description: Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 23, 2002, Jemaah Islamiya (JI) is a Southeast Asia-based terrorist group co-founded by Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. The group seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate spanning Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines, and southern Thailand. More than 400 JI operatives have been captured or killed since 2002, including operations chief and al-Qa'ida (AQ) associate Hambali and, in January 2015, bomb-maker Zulfiki bin Hir (aka Marwan). The group has been linked to AQ in the past.

Activities: JI has carried out many attacks in the region. Significant JI attacks include the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed more than 200 people, among them seven U.S. citizens; the August 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta; the September 2004 bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta; and the October 2005 suicide bombing in Bali, which left 26 dead, including the three suicide bombers.

On July 17, 2009, a JI faction led by Noordin Mohamed Top claimed responsibility for suicide attacks at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta that killed seven people and injured more than 50, including seven U.S. citizens.

In November 2014, Indonesian authorities released former JI bomb-maker Taufik Abdul Halim from prison after he served a 12-year sentence for attempting to bomb a Jakarta shopping mall in 2001.

In January 2015, 44 Philippines policemen and three civilians were killed when a police counterterrorism squad was ambushed while conducting a raid in Mamasapano in the southern island of Mindanao. That same month, it was reported that JI-linked violent extremists had attempted to carry out attacks during a papal visit to Manila and Tacloban. In October 2015, two senior JI leaders – Zarkashi and JI military leader Abu Dujana – were released from prison after serving seven years each in Indonesian jails. In December 2015, police in East Java arrested four individuals associated with JI involved in manufacturing firearms for terrorist activities.

There were no reported attacks by JI in 2016. JI is believed to be recruiting and strengthening its network and finances, however. In early 2016, it was also reported that the group was sending members to Syria to train.

Strength: Estimates vary from 500 to several thousand members.

Location/Area of Operation: JI has been focusing on its operations and increasing its presence in Indonesia. The group has also carried out attacks in Malaysia and the Philippines in the past.

Funding and External Aid: JI fundraises through membership donations and criminal and business activities. It has received financial, ideological, and logistical support from Middle Eastern contacts and illegitimate charities and organizations.