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Fingerprint test confirms Santoso dead: Police
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Four police officers stand near two coffins containing the dead bodies of Santoso and Muchtar at Bayangkara hospital, Palu, Central Sulawesi, on July 19. (Antara Foto/Fiqman Sunandar)
T
he results of a fingerprint examination of two people killed during a shootout in Poso, Central Sulawesi, on Monday have revealed that one of them is Santoso, the National Police chief has said.
"From the information that I've just received, the fingerprints [of the corpse] are identical to Santoso's. He was once arrested, so our conclusions are based on the fingerprint match. It is 100 percent [confirmed]," National Police Tito Karnavian said at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the physical features of the deceased were identical to that of infamous terrorist Santoso, including a mole on his brow, a mole under his lips and a bullet scar on his body.
However, he added that the police would still conduct a DNA test as a part of legal requirements. To carry out the test, Santoso’s child will be taken to the police hospital in Palu, Central Sulawesi, tonight.
Tito said Tinombala Operation personnel continued to hunt Santoso's subordinates, including Basri, who was previously mistaken for the corpse that was later identified as Muchtar. Santoso and Muchtar were shot dead during Monday’s gunfight in Tambarana village in Poso.
"We will continue [the operation]. There is Basri and other targets, such as Ali Kalora. We will continue to enforce the law as well as taking a soft approach," he added.
Operation Tinombala, which began in 2015 to capture Santoso and his followers, is the nation’s largest joint operation, involving around 3,500 police and Indonesian military personnel. (wnd/ags)
