The National Police launched Operation Madago Raya in Central Sulawesi last week and shot dead Ali and an accomplice in the remote village of Astina in Parigi Moutong regency on Saturday evening.

The police confirmed his death on Sunday alongside that of Ikrima, alias Jaka Ramadhan, another MIT member. They also seized an M16 rifle, explosives and two bags belonging to the terrorists, the head of the operation Insp. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said in a statement.

The bodies were sent to Bhayangkara Hospital in Central Sulawesi for forensic examination.

Rudy said the police task force was still on the hunt for four more MIT members: Askar, alias Jaid or Pak Guru; Nae, alias Galuh or Muklas; Suhardin alias Hasan Pranata; and Ahmad Gazali, alias Ahmad Panjang.

Saturday’s deaths are the latest in a series of setbacks that the MIT has endured. In July, the Central Sulawesi Police’s task force shot dead Muhammad Busra, alias Qatar, another MIT leader on the police’s most wanted list. Qatar’s follower Rukli was killed alongside him in the Tokasa mountains. Six days later, another member, Ambo, was killed by the police task force in Tolai Induk village.

The MIT is a homegrown terrorist group operating in the deep jungles of Central Sulawesi and had previously pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

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