Authorities have revealed that the Islamic State propaganda seized during a raid on the home of suspected militant may have been used by children.
Indonesian police found scores of notebooks inscribed with Islamic State propaganda during the raid in connection with the stabbing death of a policeman in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province on June 25.
Each of the books had its top page inscribed with the statement: “You are all obliged to go to war”. The front covers of the notebooks had a picture of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and quotes attributed to him as made at Friday prayer, “Tell all the apostates in the Muslim countries, these are their last days. And tell every infidel, we’re not playing anymore,” a quote attributed to Baghdadi read.
Children’s handwriting was found in some of the books, including notes about the solar system, which police said could mean the books had been used by children to take notes in school.
Authorities believe Islamic State has thousands of sympathizers in Indonesia and are increasingly worried about the group trying to get a foothold in Southeast Asia as it loses territory in the Middle East.
“We’re still investigating who funded the printing of these books,” police spokesman Rikwanto told a news conference.
Russia has said it believes it might have killed the Islamic State leader in an air strike in Syria on June 17.
Police shot dead one suspect and arrested another man after the attack in Medan. The wife of the arrested man told police her husband had spent six months in Syria in 2013, authorities said previously.
Police believe the men were part of Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, an umbrella organization on a U.S. State Department “terrorist” list which supports Islamic State and has hundreds of Indonesian followers.
Islamic State sympathisers have carried out a series of mostly low-level attacks in Indonesia over the past few years, and there are fears about the return of hundreds of battle-hardened Indonesians who have gone to Syria to support the group.
