Isis-linked group used online games, chat apps to radicalise Indonesian children: police

Over 110 children have been targeted by terrorist recruiters this year alone, a ‘massive’ spike from 17 between 2011 and 2017, police say

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Members of a police bomb squad inspect the wreckage of a motorbike used to carry out a suicide attack in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, on March 29, 2021. Photo: AP

Published: 4:34pm, 19 Nov 2025Updated: 4:35pm, 19 Nov 2025

Indonesian police have dismantled an Islamic State-linked network that used online video games and social media to radicalise more than 100 children, arresting five suspects including a convicted terrorist.

The elite counterterrorism unit Densus 88 revealed on Tuesday that the cell had targeted 110 minors aged between 10 and 18 across 23 provinces this year alone – a figure authorities described as a “massive” spike compared with previous decades.

“In the years 2011 to 2017, we secured about 17 children … but in 2025 alone, more than 110 have been identified,” Densus 88 spokesman Mayndra Eka Wardhana said, as quoted by local outlet Detik. “This allows us to conclude there is a massive recruitment process occurring via online media.”

The five suspects, arrested in a series of raids from Sumatra to Sulawesi, include a 47-year-old recidivist identified as FW, a former terror convict whom investigators say resumed clandestine activity after his release and maintained ties to the Isis-aligned Jamaah Ansharut Daulah network.

Umar Patek (right), one of the bombmakers in the Bali blasts, takes a selfie with Ali Fauzi, a brother of three of the bombers, after his early release from prison in December 2022. Photo: AFP

According to investigators, the recruiters abandoned the traditional face-to-face “halaqah” (study circle) method in favour of a digital funnel. They infiltrated popular online gaming platforms and social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, initially sharing “utopian visions” and fantasy-themed content to build rapport with children.

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