November 18, 2025 | 06:27 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Special Detachment 88 Anti-Terror Squad (Densus 88) of the Indonesian National Police has disclosed that more than 110 children are suspected to have been recruited into terrorist networks. The Head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Indonesian National Police, Brigadier General Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko, stated that these recruited children are spread across 23 provinces.
"As of now, Detachment 88 Anti-Terrorism Unit of the Indonesian National Police has recorded around 110 children between the ages of 10 and 18," he said during a press conference at the National Police Headquarters, South Jakarta, on Tuesday, November 18th, 2025.
Trunoyudo mentioned that these children were recruited online. He said that the Densus 88 of the Indonesian National Police is conducting massive law enforcement against terrorist networks operating through social media.
The latest crackdown took place on November 17th, 2025, with the arrest of two adult suspects who played roles as recruiters and controllers of group communications. "One in West Sumatra and one in the Central Java region," he said. In the previous arrests, the police had captured three individuals involved in different cases.
Trunoyudo revealed that the modus operandi and propaganda are carried out gradually. Initially, the propaganda is disseminated through open platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and online games. Those considered potential targets will subsequently be contacted privately through more secure platforms, such as WhatsApp or Telegram.
"The propaganda is disseminated using short videos, animations, memes, and music packaged attractively to build emotional closeness and trigger ideological interest," he said.
He mentioned that children's vulnerability is influenced by several social factors, as indicated by the assessment results. Some of these factors include bullying, broken home conditions, lack of family attention, search for self-identity, social marginalization, and the lack of digital literacy skills.
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