Indonesia shut down at least 11 radical websites and several social media accounts on Saturday after a deadly gun and bomb attack claimed by the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group rocked the capital earlier in the week.
Authorities said several accounts had been found on social networking website Facebook expressing support for Thursday’s attack in Jakarta’s commercial district, which killed seven people including five militants, and injured around 30 others, AP reported.
The brazenness of the assault, which lasted several hours, suggested a new brand of militancy in a country where low-level strikes on police are common.
“We are monitoring many websites and public complaints about this,” said Ismail Cawidu, a public relations official at the communications ministry.
The government had also sent letters to social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Telegram requesting that radical material be immediately blocked or taken down, Cawidu said.
The alleged mastermind behind this week’s attack, an Indonesian fighting with IS in Syria, is believed to have used social media extensively to share his beliefs about IS and communicate with contacts in Indonesia using blog posts and mobile messaging apps.
Indonesia’s police have said the attacks were masterminded by Bahrun Naim, described as an “intellectual jihadi.”
IS Funded Jakarta Attacks
National police chief, General Badrodin Haiti, said on Friday an attack carried out by militants in Jakarta was funded by the IS.
The funds were driven through Naim, who was arrested in 2011 for illegal arms possession, the police chief told reporters. He served three years in prison for the charges.
After his release, he became increasingly involved in militant groups across the world’s most populous country, emerging as a key player in militant networks.
Naim left for Syria last year to join the fight alongside the IS after being released.
Police said late on Friday that two of the attackers had been identified as raids continued across the country to track down any other militants in the networks they belonged to.
Authorities believe there are up to 1,000 IS sympathizers in Indonesia.
