Terrorist Organization Profile:
Komando Jihad (Indonesian)

There are very few known facts about the creation of Komando Jihad. Some sources say the group was simply made up of former Darul Islam members who were dedicated to the formation of an Islamic state in Indonesia. Other sources argue that Komando Jihad was actually created by the Indonesian government in order to trap Islamic militants, combat communism, and demonize Islam in favor of the secular dictatorship. In any case, members of Komando Jihad were responsible for several terrorist incidents in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including a high-profile hijacking in 1981 which resulted in an Entebbe-style raid by Indonesian security forces to free hostages.

While Komando Jihad was active, the Indonesian government made every attempt to crush Islamic extremist movements in the country. This led many observers to believe that the Indonesian government had not only created the group, but had facilitated Komando Jihad operations in order to be given an excuse to crack down on other Islamists. Although this has never been proven, during this time, hundreds of suspected Muslim militants were rounded up and imprisoned, whether they were members of Komando Jihad or not. Among the imprisoned were Abu Bakar Bashir and Abdullah Sungkar, two suspected members of Komando Jihad who would later go on to found the infamous Jemaah Islamiya, a violent terrorist organization still active today. For Komando Jihad, the 1981 hijacking would ultimately lead to a final crackdown and the group was quickly dismantled.

Learn more about these U.S. Department of State classifications:

Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)

Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL)