2 suspected terrorists shot dead in Poso

JAKARTA. Officers from the police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) shot dead two suspected terrorists in a gunfight in Gayatri hamlet, Maranda village, Poso Pesisir district, Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, on Sunday evening.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Idham Aziz said the alleged terrorists, identified as Eno and Aziz, were believed to be members of the Santoso-led East Indonesia Mujahidin group and had been on the police’s wanted list. 

“During the gunfight, two police officers suffered gunshot wounds,” Idham said in Palu on Monday.

He said the wounded officers were Chief Brig. I Wayan Pande, who suffered wounds to his left arm, and Brig. I Wayan Sudiata, who suffered wounds to his upper head due to the explosion of a homemade bomb.

He added the gunfight occurred at 6:30 p.m. local time and lasted 30 minutes.

Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Hari Suprapto said the police seized an M16 long rifle, two homemade bombs, swords, two magazines and 20 5.5-millimeter bullets.

Hari said the bodies of the two alleged terrorists had been taken to Bahayangkara Police Hospital in Palu. He added that the police had been watching a suspected hideaway of the group in the hamlet before the firefight started.

“Police are still hunting other members of the group who are believed to be still hiding in forested areas in the Poso and Parigi Moutong regencies,” he said.

He said the operation against the group, code named Camar Maleo II, had started two weeks ago with the deployment of about 1,000 officers. 

Earlier in April, police shot dead one of the group leaders, Daeng Koro, in an armed clash between his group and a joint security team comprising personnel from the National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism unit, the local police’s Brimob unit and the Parigi Moutong Police in the Pangi mountain range, Sakina Jaya village, North Parigi district, Parigi Moutong regency.

Daeng Koro was allegedly involved in various terrorist attacks, including the shooting of civilians in Masani village, Poso and the murder of First Brig. Andi Sapa and Brig. Sudirman in Tamanjeka, Poso.

Earlier in March, the Indonesian Military (TNI) used Poso as a military training ground, involving more than 3,000 officers. TNI chief Gen. Moeldoko asked the alleged terrorists to surrender.

The National Commission on Human Rights questioned the TNI’s involvement in the area.

Poso was rocked by a sectarian conflict between Muslims and Christians from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s.

Thousands of Christians and Muslims became the victims of the conflict. The conflict ended with the signing of the Malino Accords in 2001 and 2002, but the region remains a hot spot for terrorism. (Ruslan Sangadji)