The fragmentation of the militant Indonesian group Jemaah Islamiah poses a major new security threat for Indonesia and its neighbours, according to Sidney Jones, director of the International Crisis Group's South-East Asian office. Jones ' perception is now that JI is no longer the biggest threat to Western targets and civilians, there have emerged several splinter groups capable of causing serious attacks."The risk of an attack on civilians endorsed by the JI leadership is now very low," Jones told The Australian , a national daily newspaper."The biggest threat now is that the younger militants of JI could be used as a recruiting pool for splinter groups like that of (Bali bomber) Noordin Top.
Jones told The Australian that Top and his followers were still interested in launching attacks on Westerners. Since the 2002 Bali attack, more than 400 members of JI are reported to have been arrested across four countries.
