Konradus Epa, Jakarta – More than 500 Indonesian jihadists who went to fight overseas are trying to sneak back home and pose a significant threat to the country, the National Anti-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) has warned.

Agency chief Boy Rafli Amar said at least 529 fighters who went to Iraq and Syria to fight with the Islamic State group, and in Afghanistan and the southern Philippines, are looking at returning.

He told lawmakers this week that the BNPT has established a team to go to these countries to try and identify and monitor them so that they cannot slip back into Indonesia undetected.

"If we fail to do so, they could become a major problem for us and pose a serious terror threat in this country," Amar said at the meeting with MPs on Jan. 25.

He said the experience they had gained while abroad and their links to international terrorism were cause for alarm in Indonesia.

Amar said the BNPT team that he has set up has already picked up 13 suspected terrorists who were deported from various countries.

"They are now in a deradicalization program run by the Social Affairs Ministry," he said.

Source: https://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesian-anti-terror-chief-issues-grim-warning/9588