Densus 88 Arrests 6 Alleged Terrorists After Deadly Poso Shootout
[Updated at 7:15 p.m. on Monday, May 25, 2015, to add details about the shootout]
Jakarta. Police engaged in a shootout on Sunday with a suspected militant group in the restive region of Poso, Central Sulawesi, suggesting the die-hard nature of terrorism cells operating in the area.
The incident occurred in the village of Gayatri on Sunday evening, after the unit raided a suspected terrorism hideout.
Two suspected militants, identified as Asis and Enoch were killed in the raid and two officers from the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) were injured.
Brig. Wayan Pande was shot in the arm and leg while Brig. Wayan Sedana was slashed in the head with a machete as the suspects and their peers resisted arrest and opened fire.
The other suspects managed to escape but some were apprehended on Monday.
“We found and arrested A.Z., S, F, A.I. and H, at two different locations in Makassar [South Sulawesi] after Sunday’s shooting. Today we arrested another suspect, N., in Central Sulawesi,” National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto said on Monday.
Police later secured an assault rifle and two improvised explosive devices on the premises, as well as two magazines and 20 rounds of ammunition.
“The two injured police officers are being taken to Jakarta [for treatment],” Agus, the police spokesman, said at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta on Monday.
The two slain suspects are believed to be members of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terror outfit, led by long-time fugitive Santoso.
Agus said Sunday’s raid came after police counter-terrorism unit Densus 88 arrested a man identified as A.Q. on Friday.
The man “is a courier, supplying ammunition” to Santoso’s group, the police spokesman said. From A.Q., officers confiscated 677 rounds of ammunition.
The shootout served as a reminder that terrorism cells in Indonesia still pose some security threats, particularly in Poso, known as a terrorism hotbed since sectarian violence raged in the area more than a decade ago.
Police have identified Santoso as an expert recruiter and trainer and countless raids in the area, including on many paramilitary training camps, have all failed to provide clues to his whereabouts.
Agus admitted that Santoso has always been steps ahead of the police tracking him down because he and his men are familiar with the forest-covered terrains in Poso.
“Actually their [core] forces are no more than 50 people strong, but they keep on recruiting people,” he said.
Santoso’s troops have been stepping up their reign of terror following the killing of another Poso-based terrorism leader, Daeng Koro, last month.
Tags: Keywords: