South China Morning Post
- JI, which was behind every major terror attack in Indonesia from 2002 to 2010, has re-emerged from the shadows with a recruiting drive and solid funding sources
- While analysts say former JI members from the likes of Malaysia and Singapore are unlikely to go back to Afghanistan, the country may again become a haven for such groups
The world changed forever after September 11. Suspicion and security trumped trust and privacy, and another attack seemed imminent. It came more than a year later, in Southeast Asia, in a chilling reminder of the insidious reach of extremism.
On October 12, 2002, Jemaah Islamiah (JI) – the Southeast Asian branch of al-Qaeda, the terrorist group behind the attacks in the United States – set off a series of bombs on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali. Two of the explosives were detonated in the buzzing tourist district of Kuta, killing 202 people from more than 20 countries in the deadliest terrorist attack in Indonesian history.
