Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – At least 81 Indonesians have declared an intention to go to Lebanon and Palestine to join Hizbollah guerrillas in armed conflict against Israel.

"Some of them have left Indonesia," ASEAN Muslim Youth Secretariat (AMSEC) chairman Suaib Didu told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, adding that they did not carry legal travel documents. He said the militants, who were inspired by his book entitled Radikalisme: Antara Jihad dan Terorisme (Radicalism: Between Jihad and Terrorism), came to him to ask for guidance about jihad.

"I told them it was better to go to Palestine and Lebanon to fight Israel than to stir things up here," he said. "I also told them not to attack civilians in their jihad, especially women and children because they are innocent."

"'Our main purpose is to stop the Israeli military offensive. We're just trying to defend the oppressed'," Suaib quoted the militants as saying.

He said the 81 militants were mostly trained warriors who had previously signed up to fight in Afghanistan. "Some of them have been trained to be suicide bombers. They would do that only to destroy Israel's vital installations," he said, adding that the militants would join the so-called Palestine Jihad Bombing Force.

The group is said to have recruited 57 Filipinos, 36 Malaysians, 43 Thais, five Brunei Darussalam nationals, three Bangladeshis and one Singaporean.

A.S., 27, an Indonesian trained in Afghanistan who also joined militants in Iraq, confirmed that some Indonesians have left for Lebanon and Palestine. "Most of them are former fighters in Ambon," he said, referring to the city in Maluku, eastern Indonesia, long wracked by religious conflict.

"I will join them but I have to go Ciamis (West Java) first to help my family, who are among the victims of the tsunami," he told the Post.

Suaib said the Israeli attacks on Lebanon had ignited anti-Israeli sentiments. "The number of volunteers wanting to go to Lebanon is likely to increase, considering the situation there," he said. He added it was likely that there would be an open recruitment for volunteers later. "Currently, they are still using closed recruitment."

Noted Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra said the idea of waging war against Israel was fine as "rhetoric", but "going there without knowing the characteristics of the battlefield" was akin to suicide. "It is better for them to go on jihad here by helping earthquake and tsunami survivors and people living in poverty," he said.