All-out hunt for Santoso after Jakarta attacks

JAKARTA. Police have stepped up the hunt for the Santoso-led terrorist gang in the forests of Central Sulawesi following the recent attacks in Jakarta that left eight people, including four attackers, dead and 26 others injured.

Central Sulawesi Police’s spokesman Adj. Snr Comr. Bagus Santoso told The Jakarta Post on Monday that 60 officers had been deployed to protect vital facilities and the border of the provinicial capital Gorontalo.

The deployed officers will carry out regular patrols on the Gorontalo border and other areas bordering North Sulawesi, including inspecting boarding houses and hotels.

It had been thought that Santoso had died in a shootout with the police and Army on Saturday after a photograph circulated showing a dead terrorist suspect who bore a striking similarity to the fugitive leader of the East Indonesia Mujahaddin (MIT), however this was later denied by authorities.

Santoso is believed to be the orchestrator of a series of attacks on civilians and police officers in Central Sulawesi. He has eluded capture for years.

Police said on Saturday they had arrested 12 people suspected of links to the Jakarta attacks, which targeted a Starbucks and a traffic police post in the center of the capital. (Syamsul Huda M.Suhari)