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Ali Kalora, a mujahedin in eastern Indonesia, was one of two killed in Indonesia’s continued crackdown on extremist groups.
Indonesian security forces said they killed a hard-line leader linked to the ISIL group (ISIS) in a shootout on Saturday amid a massive counterterrorism campaign in remote areas of the archipelago.
A joint operation by military and police killed Ali Kalora of the Mojahedin of Eastern Indonesia (MIT) on Saturday evening in a village in the east of the island of Sulawesi, according to the regional military chief of Sulawesi central, Brigadier General Farid Makruf.
“Ali Kalora was the most wanted terrorist and the head of MIT,” Makruf said.
Another hard-line supporter, identified as Jaka Ramadhan, also known as Ikrima, was also shot dead, police said, adding that a hunt was underway for four other members of the group.
Explosives, an M16 rifle and two machetes were also found.
Kalora had escaped capture for over 10 years.
He took over as head of MIT after security forces killed its former leader, Santoso. MIT pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014.
Items confiscated from ISIS-linked Ali Kalora and Jaka Ramadan who were killed in a shootout with security forces exposed to media at Parigi Moutong police station in central Parigi Moutong district. Sulawesi in Indonesia [Mohammad Taufan/AP Photo]Ridwan Habib, a terrorism analyst at the University of Indonesia, said the Sulawesi-based MIT group is unlikely to survive the death of its leader, although he suspects the fleeing members will continue to fight the forces of security.
“Part of their ideology is to seek death because they believe death will take them to Heaven. With their leader dead, they will also seek death, ”he told Reuters. “I’m not sure there will be a recovery [of MIT] or a new elected leader.
MIT has claimed responsibility for several murders of police officers and minority Christians. In May, MIT killed four Christians in a village in Poso district, one of whom was beheaded. Authorities said the attack was revenge for the March murder of two members of the group, including Santoso’s son.
Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world, has stepped up surveillance and cracked down on extremist groups since 2002, when the bombings on Bali, a popular resort island, killed 202 people, most of them strangers.
Police arrested 53 people last month on suspicion of planning an attack on Indonesia’s Independence Day.
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