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Basri possibly next MIT leader, police say
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This picture, which is taken from video footage, shows the East Indonesia Mujahiddin (MIT) terrorist group’s leader, Santoso alias Abu Wardah (center), reading out his oath of loyalty to the leader of the Islamic State (IS) movement. (Courtesy of the Operation Tinombala Task Force/Ruslan Sangadji)
S
ince Santoso alias Abu Wardah was confirmed killed during an ambush on Monday, the police now predict that Basri alias Bagong will take the empty chair as the leader of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group.
Operation Tinombala task force commander Sr. Comr. Leo Bona Lubis said Basri was currently hiding in the deep forests of Poso Pesisir Utara with the 19 members of the group including Ali Kalora and three female fighters.
“The MIT leadership has likely passed into Basri’s hands,” he said in a press conference in Palu on Tuesday, accompanied by the Wirabuana Military Command chief, who oversees Sulawesi, Maj. Gen Agus Surya Bakti.
Basri was convicted of mutilating a junior high school student in Poso and was sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2007. However, escaped and joined Santoso’s group in 2013 and became his second-in-command.
He has effectively become the most wanted MIT figure now, as Santoso was confirmed killed along with his aide Mukhtar during a gunfight with the National Army’s Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) personnel in Alfa 29 Yonif Raider 515/9/2. (ags)
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Ruslan Sangadji in Palu contributed to this story
