Jakarta and Manila join forces

Indonesian squad to team up with Philippine police over Marawi arrests

JAKARTA: Representatives of the Indonesian National Police’s Densus 88 counter-terrorism squad are set to depart for the Philippines today to coordinate with their counterparts at the Philippine National Police over Indonesian citizens arrested for their alleged involvement with a Maute terrorist group in Marawi.

“We will see how far and what their roles are in the terrorist activities happening in Marawi,” National Police spokesman Insp Gen Setyo Wasisto told journalists yesterday.

Last Wednesday, an Indonesian citizen who was identified as Muhammad Ilham Syahputra, 22, from North Sumatra, was arrested by members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team in Loksadatu in Marawi.

Muhammad Ilham was accused of being a member of the Maute terrorist group.

On Sunday, the Philippine National Police also arrested seven other Indonesian citizens in Iligan City in Northern Mindanao .

They were believed to be Omarkhayam Maute’s wife and their six children.

Omarkhayam is one of the leaders in the Maute militant group.

On Oct 16, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced that Omarkhayam and fellow Maute leader, Hapilon, were killed in a shootout in Marawi.

His wife, identified as Minhati Madrais, and their six children – four girls and two boys – have been detained and are being questioned at the Iligan City police station in the Philippines.

Setyo said it was difficult to determine how many Indonesians lived in Marawi because most of them had migrated there illegally to join militant groups located within the city.

“Even if they went there legally, they would never admit to going to Marawi,” he said.