aj. Gen. Ganip Warsito, commander of the Military Area Command (Kodam) XIII/Merdeka in Manado, North Sulawesi, said the Indonesian Military (TNI) was ready to continuously support Operation Tinombala to search for remaining people of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terror group previously led by terrorist Santoso.
Working with members of the National Police, who lead the anti-terror operation, military personnel were still moving to trace the whereabouts of Santoso followers in Poso, Central Sulawesi, following gunfire between security personnel and suspected members of the terror group on Tuesday.
“There are still six to seven [Santoso] followers, who remain at large with two armed weapons,” Ganip told journalists at the Kodam XIII Merdeka headquarters in Manado on Wednesday.
As earlier reported, a member of the TNI Nanggala VII team was killed during a shootout against MIT members in Kampung Maros, Maranda village, North Poso Pesisir, Poso, on Tuesday.
“At 1:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, gunfire broke out between TNI and police personnel and MIT followers. One TNI member was killed in the incident,” National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Rikwanto said.
First Pvt. Yusuf Bahrudin was shot in the chest. Another TNI member was shot in the back, but he survived the incident. “The injured victim is still receiving medical treatment,” said Rikwanto.
Apart from eradicating the late Santoso led terror group, Ganip said, the joint military-police team aims to reduce the influence of the group. “It has brought suffering to people. This is why we are determined to help the police in their counterterrorism operations,” said Ganip. (ebf)
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