Indonesian Islamist extremist leader Santoso, killed in a shootout with security forces, was a potent jihadi symbol who kept up a violent struggle in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation that inspired legions of other militants.
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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-Vice President Jusuf Kalla has expressed his appreciation for the performance of Tinombala Task Force in the joint operations between the National Police and the National Armed Forces to crack down on Santoso-led radical armed group in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
National police chief Tito Karnavian said earlier he was “90 percent” confident Santoso had been killed in the clash on Sulawesi on Monday.
“I have hunted him and I have arrested him before, we have asked people and we have sent people (to identify the body) who fought with him and went on jihad with him”, Sufahriadi said.
His death, confirmed by Indonesian authorities after fast-tracked forensic tests were conducted, represents a major scalp for the country’s counter-terrorism forces, which have been on an extended manhunt for the high-value target.
His group carried out a string of deadly attacks on domestic security forces and was known for training militants from around the archipelago. “Besides, Santoso had been cornered in the last few years so in concrete terms he did not do much with regards to the presence of ISIS in Indonesia”.
After Indonesia suffered a string of Islamic extremist attacks in the early 2000s, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed more than 200, authorities launched a crackdown that weakened the most unsafe networks.
Despite his support for Islamic State, officials do not believe Santoso played a role in an attack in Jakarta in January, in which killed eight people including the four attackers, were killed.
Senior police officials said the second militant killed on Monday was believed to be Santoso’s right-hand man. Two women, one of whom was suspected to be Santoso’s wife, and another man, escaped from the gunfight.
His small group, Mujahidin Indonesia Timur, has attracted militants from other parts of Indonesia and several ethnic Uighur Muslims from western China’s Xinjiang region.
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Santoso, also known as Abu Wardah, and another MIT combatant, were killed in the fire-fight.
