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Indonesia detains terrorists boarding Syrian plane

27 December 2014 20:20 (UTC +04:00)

A couple along their 10-year-old child were among the six suspects arrested in Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta airport on Saturday as they were trying to board the plane destined for Syria on fake passports. Their arrest led to the detention of those behind the financing of the trip, a police spokesman said.

The couple admitted that they planned to join the ISIL militants in Syria and die for the cause of the Takfiri group.

Indonesia has seen a surge in the number of people embarking on trips to join terrorists in the Middle East. The country, which has itself suffered from extremist attacks such as 2002 Bali bombings, has intensified its crackdown on terrorist networks over the past years.

Authorities estimate that more than 500 Indonesian nationals have managed to join the Takfiri terrorists in Syria and Iraq with most of them migrants and students based in other countries.

Hundreds of extremists have left their countries from the four corners of the world, including from Europe and Asia, in the direction of Syria to join the fight against President Bashar al-Assad.

The ISIL terrorists control parts of Syria's northern territory. The group sent its militants into Iraq in June, quickly seizing swathes of land straddling the border between the two countries.