T

he Central Sulawesi Police have extended Operation Camar Maleo 2015 to pursue members of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) in Poso regency, the leaders of which were recently shot dead.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Idham Azis said the decision to extend the operation was made based on a thorough evaluation because the civilian armed group continued to operate and recruit new members in the region.

'€œWe are still reviewing the exact date to start [the operation]. It will definitely be in the near future,'€ Idham told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said the operation, which had been to officially end on March 26, was being conducted mainly to hunt down and arrest MIT members in the forests of Poso and neighboring regions.

Idham also said that apart from Operation Camar Maleo, together with other elements of the community in the region, the police would conduct a deradicalization program.

The program, according to Idham, was very important to prevent people in Poso from joining the MIT, which had been influenced by the Islamic State (IS) movement.

For the program, he said, the police would coordinate with local administrations, religious institutions and leaders.

'€œPreaching Islam as a rahmatan lil '€˜alamin [grace of the universe] religion is the task of religious leaders. The police work in the domain of law enforcement,'€ said Idham, adding that the police would coordinate with the military in the
operation.

Earlier, police released video footage purportedly showing supporters of IS undergoing combat training in a forest in Poso.

In the footage, which had been edited into several short parts, the armed group was doing target practice using long-barreled firearms.

Members of the gang have been recorded stating that they had joined IS and warning people living in the mountains not to inform the police on pain of death.

The deputy commander of the National Police'€™s Densus 88 counterterror squad, Sr. Comr. Martinus Hukom, claimed that training camps had been established by the MIT in Poso and other places in surrounding areas.

This, he said, was based on analysis of the video footage and photos on a seized cell phone belonging to Daeng Koro, a MIT leader responsible for training members of the group to use guns and to fight.

Koro was shot dead in a police raid in Parigi Moutong regency last Friday. Another leader of the group, Imam, was also gunned down in a hamlet in the regency on Sunday.

Separately, Central Sulawesi Governor Longki Djanggola said that his administration fully supported efforts to tackle terrorism in Poso. He also asked the police to intensify their pursuit of MIT members.

'€œIf necessary, deploy the best force to hunt down and arrest them. The Central Sulawesi provincial administration is ready as a backup,'€ he said in a text message on Thursday.

Meanwhile, personnel of the military'€™s Quick Reaction Force (PPRC) patrolling areas believed to be where the hideouts of the Koro and Santoso groups are located in Gunung Biru, Poso Pesisir, found a Belgian Browning p-41 handgun and 48 active bullets.

They were found on the banks of the Samarela River in Gayatri village, Poso Pesisir.

The commander of the Army'€™s Strategic Command (Kostrad) Division 2, Maj. Gen. Bambang Haryanto, said the handgun and the bullets had been taken to TNI headquarters.

He said the PPRC was currently patrolling the Poso Pesisir mountain range. The military confirmed that the armed civilian group had left the area and some of its members had blended in with local residents.