Jakarta, July 19 (Antara) - The gunfight between the Tinombala Task
Force and the armed terrorist group in Poso, Central Sulawesi, on Monday
afternoon ended in the death of suspected leader of the group, Santoso
alias Abu Wardah.
Deputy Regional Police Chief of Central Sulawesi, Senior Commissioner
Leo Bona Lubis, stated on Tuesday that the police has confirmed that one
of the two radicals shot dead by the police-military joint task force
was Santoso alias Abu Wardah, the leader of Poso's armed terror group in
Central Sulawesi.
"Based on physical examination, the body is of Santoso. We are now
awaiting the result of the DNA test," he remarked at the Bhayangkara
Hospital in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Tuesday.
Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo hoped that Poso would soon recover
and stability will return after the armed terrorist group was crushed by
the Tinombala Operation Task Force on Monday evening.
"Following Santoso's reported death, Central Sulawesi, particularly
Poso, would soon attain stability and witness accelerated development,"
Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said.
The success of the military-police joint team in decimating the terror
group was lauded by many sides, including President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)
and legislators.
Presidential Special Staff Johan Budi, in a short message to Antara on
Tuesday, hailed the joint military-police task force. He said President
Jokowi has expressed his appreciation for the successful task force
operation.
"However, the President asked that the remaining members of the group
should also be hunted down," reminded Johan, adding that the head of
state urged the people to remain vigilant against the threat of
terrorism.
Johan Budi cautioned that vigilance should not weaken but should rather
be increased to keep the state and nation safe from the threat of
terrorism.
Appreciation also came from the House of Representatives (DPR). The
Chairman of Commission III on security affairs of the DPR, Bambang
Soesatyo, underlined that the death of the Eastern Indonesian Mujahidin
leader proved that Indonesia was consistently fighting terrorism.
"The death of Santoso is a message to the international community and
proof that Indonesia is consistent in its efforts to eliminate terrorist
cells at home," Soestayo said on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Luhut
Binsar Panjaitan, also confirmed that the bodies of the two terrorists
who died in the exchange of gunfire on Monday belonged to Santoso and
Mukhtar.
Luhut noted that although the armed group has become weaker after the
death of Santoso, the Tinombala Task Force operations will be continued
to trace the remaining 19 members of the group.
The task force will continue to carry out further operations, and its strength will be enhanced.
"The Tinombala Operation will be continued," Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar,
Public Relations Division Chief of the National Police Headquarters
said meanwhile.
Amar affirmed that the operations will be continued to crush the terrorist group in Poso.
This is to entirely eliminate terrorist activities and to anticipate
the emergence of new terror cells. "With the operations ongoing, the
group's movement has been restricted, and it will face difficulties in
procuring logistics, which will further weaken it," he pointed out.
The Tinombala operation, involving a special team of three thousand
military and police personnel, was started in January 2016 in line with
President Joko Widodo's directive to wipe out the Santoso group, which
had made Poso a terror hotbed for years.
The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Chief Spokesman Maj. Gen. Tatang
Sulaiman stated that the Raider Battalion 515 of the Army's Strategic
Command Force (Kostrad) and the Tinombala Task Force exchanged gunfire
with the Santoso group on Monday evening (July 18). One of the group
members, suspected to be Santoso, was shot dead.
"Hence, there were armed terrorists exchanging gunfire with the
Kostrad's Raider Battalion 515 and the Tinombala Task Force," the TNI
chief's spokesman noted.
The gunfight began at 5 p.m. Central Indonesia Standard Time. Five
members of the extremist group and five personnel of the Tinombala Task
Force were involved in the exchange of gunfire that ended in the killing
of two terrorists, one of whom is strongly believed to be Santoso.
The shootout took place in Tambarana in the northern coastal area of Poso, or some 60 kilometers from Poso.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla has praised the performance of the Tinombala
Operation's task force in paralyzing the Santoso-led terrorist group.
"We
highly laud the police and soldiers, who have conducted a large-scale
operation for months to hunt down the terrorist leader," the vice
president remarked at the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory in East Jakarta on
Tuesday.***2***(a014/INE/B003)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 19-07-2016 22:44: |
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