National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said on Wednesday that joint forces grouped in the operation would step up offensive measures to track down the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) movement in the jungles of Poso, Central Sulawesi. 

Following a recent visit to Poso to evaluate the operation, Badrodin called for innovations in tactics, such as moving at night with night goggles to monitor any movement.

"We will improve all monitoring and communication equipment [...] and intelligence equipment to assist the operation," Badrodin said.

If Santoso and his men are not immediately cornered, Badrodin said, they will keep recruiting members to their group, making it all the harder to eradicate them.

National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian has previously called Santoso a “symbol of rebellion” who attracts extremists and the disaffected from across the archipelago.

Recently, the joint troops succeeded in arresting two young members of the MIT, namely Sulaeman from Madura, East Java, and Ibadurrohman from Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, as the two were searching for food in Padalembara village, Poso Pesisir Selatan.

According to Badrodin, the police will continue to interrogate the detained men regarding the whereabouts of Santoso and the MIT.

Since January this year, the police and Indonesian Military (TNI) have deployed more than 2,500 personnel to hunt the terror group, which publicly pledged allegiance to the global terrorist Islamic State (IS) group in 2014. (dan)

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