T

he police are still working to identify a body believed to be that of Poso terrorist leader Daeng Koro alias Sabar Subagyo at the Central Sulawesi Police Bhayangkara Hospital in Palu.

As of Saturday evening, the identity of the armed civilian had not been confirmed by the police, with a spokesman claiming the process of identification was ongoing.

'€œWe will wait for the result of the DNA test,'€ Central Sulawesi Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Hari Suprapto said on Saturday.

Throughout the day, a number of officers of the Central Sulawesi Police'€™s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) were seen guarding the hospital'€™s morgue.

Daeng Koro is believed to have been killed in a gunfight with a joint police force on Friday.

Definitive identification is imperative given that in a photograph released by the police, the dead man resembles Mubarok alias Barok, who is on the police'€™s most-wanted list.

The police, however, have expressed confidence that the body is indeed that of Daeng Koro, who, with Santoso alias Abu Wardah, leads the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) in Poso.

'€œWe strongly believe that the one man shot dead during the clash was Daeng Koro. However, in order to confirm our suspicions, we will conduct several DNA tests,'€ National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto explained separately on Saturday in Jakarta.

Rikwanto said that Sabar, also known as Mas Koro or Abdul Salam, was one of the leaders of MIT, alongside fellow terrorist suspect Santoso, and had been on the force'€™s most-wanted list since 2013.

According to the police force'€™s investigation, Sabar had been involved in numerous terrorist activities, including providing training for militant groups in Morowali and Poso regencies in Central Sulawesi.

The firefight on Friday occurred after the police, following reports from locals, raided a farmer'€™s hut in Sakina Jaya, Parigi Moutong, where a group of 12 armed men had reportedly been seen. The area is around 120 kilometers from Poso, the regional capital.

Police personnel told the armed men to surrender, and were answered with gunshots. The men also attacked the police with homemade bombs, with the ensuing shoot-out lasting around 45 minutes.

One of the armed men died in the incident and the rest fled into the jungle, some of them reportedly wounded.

The police also seized two standard-issue M-16 weapons and a homemade rifle. The body and the evidence were taken to the Parigi Moutong Police headquarters.

During the crime-scene investigation, the police also found a homemade bomb, active ammunition, a map of Central Sulawesi, a GPS device, a cell phone and a cleaver and other sharp weapons. The hut was a wooden cottage erected on the top of a hill surrounded by treeless farmland.

Parigi Moutong Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Novia Jaya said the police would continue sweeping the area starting from the site of the shootout.

The suspected Poso terrorist group is thought to have moved to Parigi Moutong to avoid the joint military exercises recently conducted in Poso by the Indonesian Army, Air Force and Navy.

The military completed a Quick Response Strike Force (PPRC) military exercise in Poso on March 28. The 10-day program, involving 3,222 Navy, Army and Air Force personnel, was aimed at improving coordinated responses to radical groups. The exercise also included warships and jet fighters.

Poso is the main stomping ground of a radical group led by Santoso, the most-wanted terrorist in Indonesia; his group frequently launches attacks in the area. Police operation Camar Maleo to find Santoso and his group was terminated on March 26, having failed to result in the capture of Santoso or any of his men.