Four suspected Chinese ISIS members arrested in Indonesia

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-09-16

A Kurdish fighter from the Freedom Party of Kurdistan holds a position in
Dibis, Iraq. (Photo/CFP)

Four Chinese nationals of Uyghur ethnicity have been arrested by Indonesian police on suspicion of being members of Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the brutal jihadist group that claims religious authority over all Muslims across the world.

Indonesian authorities say they have confirmed that the suspects, captured by anti-terrorism forces on the island of Sulawesi on Monday, are from northwestern China's restive Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. The suspects are believed to have traveled to Indonesia from China via Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, with the intent of connecting with a local Islamic State chief.

The arrests came just a day after Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said his country should remain vigilant and avoid thinking of Islamic State as merely a distant threat, and urged measures to stop citizens from heading to the Middle East to join the extremist group.

This may not be the first time a Chinese national has been captured by authorities for joining Islamic State. Earlier this month, two photos posted on a Facebook page purportedly operated by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence showed a badly beaten man apparently captured by the Iraqi Army, along with a short message describing the man as a Chinese member of Islamic State.

China's special envoy to the Middle East, Wu Sike, has also stated that Islamic State may have already recruited as many as 100 Chinese citizens, most of whom are Uyghurs from Xinjiang. The Chinese government has blamed the Muslim Uyghurs for a slew of terrorist attacks across the country in recent years, including several deadly assaults on police stations, bombings at public markets, knife attacks at train stations, and a mass riot in late July that reportedly led to 100 deaths and over 200 arrests. Uyghur activists accuse Beijing of suppressing their religious and cultural freedoms.

Despite being unwilling to join the international military alliance led by the United States aimed at striking down Islamic State, China has been vocal in its opposition to the militant organization. On Aug. 15, Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, called upon the international community to strengthen efforts to combat Islamic State, calling the extremist group "a serious threat to peace and security in the Middle East and the world as a whole."

"China is also a victim of terrorism. We strongly oppose all forms of terrorism and will continue to actively participate in international counter-terrorism cooperation and to combat the threat of terrorism together," Liu added.

The New York Times reported, citing US intelligence officials, that there are around 15,000 foreign militants from 80 countries currently in Iraq and Syria, most of whom are fighting for Islamic State. Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao claims the majority of the foreign fighters are said to be from nearby Muslim countries such as Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, with others from further parts of the world such as Belgium, Russia and the United States, as well as China.

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