Horrifying video of 'elite' terrorists training to kill Westerners with the same jihadist group responsible for the Bali Bombings is uncovered by police
Indonesian police have unearthed dramatic videos of a terrorist training camp where members of an elite group learned how to kill.
The training videos were discovered on the laptop of a recently arrested terror suspect.
Scores of members of the resurgent Jemaah Islamiyah have recently been arrested, giving authorities new insights into the terrorist group which trained members who were then shipped off to fight in Syria.
A compilation video of the training, which was conducted in the period 2013-2018 and involved what has been described as a JI special force, has been released by Indonesian police.
Indonesian police have unearthed dramatic videos of a terrorist training camp where members of an elite group learned how to kill, which were then screened on local media
The video shows training sequences using weapons, kidnapping simulations, fighting and physical training.
It comes after the November arrest JI leader Aris Sumarsono, known as Zulkarnaen, who is among those who orchestrated the 2002 Bali bombings.
He had been on the run for 18 years after the bombing of two Bali nightclubs which left 202 people dead, 88 of them Australians.
JI, which is linked to al-Qaeda, is responsible for a string of deadly bombings in Indonesia. But analysts had believed its influence and reach had waned in recent years.
The video shows training sequences using weapons, kidnapping simulations, fighting and physical training
It comes after the November arrest JI leader Aris Sumarsono (pictured in handcuffs), known as Zulkarnaen, who is among those who orchestrated the 2002 Bali bombings
National police spokesman Ahmad Ramadhan said the terrorist training camps had been running in 12 locations where seven groups of recruits had been trained.
He said the training included self-defence exercises, military and ambush training.
Each group had consisted of up to 15 recruits and about 95 members in total had completed the training courses.
Most were aged 19-23 years and after seven months at the camp they were sent to Syria.
An armed Indonesian policeman at the scene of a bomb blast in Kuta, on the resort island of Bali, October 14, 2002
The group then spent about $28,000 to send groups of 10 to 12 trainees to fight in Syria (training video pictured)
Police spokesman Argo Yuwoni said that one of the arrested trainers, Joko Priyono - known as Karso - said the training had cost about $6000 per month.
The group then spent about $28,000 to send groups of 10 to 12 trainees to fight in Syria.
Argo said the money had come from JI members.
Karso has told police that the point of the training was to prepare future leaders who understood the reality of jihad.