The report "Indonesia: Jihadi Surprise in Aceh," from Brussels' International Crisis Group, said that extremists remain at large in the Indonesian archipelago of Aceh.

One of the key reasons they are able to operate is because of corruption, the report claimed. This has led to a jihadi coalition calling itself "al-Qaida Indonesia in Aceh," the 31-page report says.

"This group defined itself in opposition to the other two main streams of Indonesian jihadism," said Sidney Jones, ICG Asia program senior adviser. "It was angry with Jemaah Islamiyah for abandoning jihad and critical of the late Noordin Top for having no long-term strategy."

The Indonesian government should tighten control over prisons, increase training for police in confronting armed suspects and consider banning paramilitary training by non-state actors.

About 50 men have been arrested since February and eight have been killed in police raids while more than a dozen more suspects have been identified and are being sought by police.

The report praised the efforts of the military and police for their efforts at the beginning of the year, especially for tracking down and eventually killing Jemaah Islamiyah leader Dulmatin, believed to have been behind the deadly Bali bombings, in March.

Dulmatin was an Indonesian militant wanted around the world and had a $10 million bounty on his head. Law enforcement officials from Jakarta to Washington thought he was in Mindanao in the southern Philippines before news broke that he was holed up in Indonesia.

However, there remains a corruption element within the anti-terror police units that holds back its good efforts, the report said. "No matter how effective the Detachment 88 is, the police as a whole will make little headway in convincing members of the public to report suspicious behavior unless the institution makes a better effort than it has thus far to clean up its ranks and hold its members accountable for wrongdoing."

More work needs to be done, said Jim Della-Giacoma, ICG's Southeast Asia project director. "Rolling up this network is no mean feat and the Indonesian police, at both local and national levels, deserve credit for their fast work. But no one should be complacent that the job is over."

In the government's favor has been the "colossal blunder" by the group in choosing Aceh as its so called secure base where it has received little support and less sympathy from the mainly liberal Muslim communities.

The report said that many of the dead and jailed members have been found with forged documents, suggesting that they had help from government officials at some time. Many of them are also former prisoners meaning they might have been recruited in prison by rebel members already there.

The ICG wants to see Indonesia strictly enforce tax laws and regulations with respect to publishers of jihadi material.

The government also should appoint a special task force within the police to apprehend and prosecute document forgers, especially of passports and Indonesian identity cards. The report said that "Dulmatin had no difficulty getting a fake local identification card and passport."

Also, Sofyan Tsauri, another leader of the al-Qaida Aceh group and now in police custody, "used corrupt police contacts to buy supposedly destroyed weapons."

A new anti-terror body should be set up and led by a civilian, the report said, adding that the person should commission and use academic studies and surveys on extremist movements, including local case studies, so that policy is be based on hard data rather than assumptions such as that poverty breeds radicalism.

earlier related report
Despite fears, US intends for now to continue engaging Syria
Tallinn (AFP) April 22, 2010 - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that "as of today" the United States sought to pursue deeper ties with Syria despite fears it may be sending missiles to Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Estonia, Clinton's remarks hinted that President Barack Obama's policy to engage with a former US foe could change if Syria is found to be making such transfers.

The State Department summoned a senior Syrian diplomat in Washington on Monday to demand an "immediate" end to any arms transfers to Hezbollah, particularly Scud missiles that Israel alleges have been transferred.

The summons amounted to a warning as her spokesman Philip Crowley confirmed that Washington could not immediately confirm that the ballistic missiles had actually reached Hezbollah.

The chief US diplomat underscored Washington's concerns during her two-day visit to the Estonian capital when reporters asked her to comment on the possible impact of any missile transfers on the policy of engagement.

Washington has expressed as "strongly as possible" concerns "about these stories that do suggest that there has been some transfer of weapons technology into Syria with the potential purpose of them later transferring it to Hezbollah inside Lebanon," she said.

"Where we are as of today is that we believe that it is important to continue the process to return an ambassador" to Syria for the first time in five years, Clinton said.

"This is not some kind of reward for the Syrians and the actions that they take that are deeply disturbing not only to the United States and not just to Israel but to others in the region and beyond," she said.

"But ... it is a tool that we believe can give us extra leverage, added insight, analysis, information with respect to Syria's actions and intentions," she said.

"We would like to have a more balanced and positive relationship with Syria," she said. "We would like to see Syria play a more constructive role and engage in an effort to resolve its outstanding conflict with Israel."

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