Mujahideen Indonesia Timur Sub-Commanders Killed in Central Sulawesi
| Publisher | Jamestown Foundation |
| Author | Jacob Zenn |
| Publication Date | 6 March 2014 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | Militant Leadership Monitor Volume: 5 Issue: 2 |
| Cite as | Jamestown Foundation, Mujahideen Indonesia Timur Sub-Commanders Killed in Central Sulawesi, 6 March 2014, Militant Leadership Monitor Volume: 5 Issue: 2, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/53183f066.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Indonesia's National Police Chief, General Sutarman, announced on February 7 that two sub-commanders of Mujahideen Indonesia Timur (MIT - Mujahideen of Eastern Indonesia) were killed in Poso, Central Sulawesi (Antara News [Jakarta], February 7). MIT is led by Santoso, Indonesia's most wanted terrorist (see Militant Leadership Monitor, August 2013). Typical of Santoso's fighters, the two sub-commanders were targeting Indonesian police officers in an ambush, but the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) noticed irregular movements, suspected Santoso's fighters were about to launch an attack and repelled the militants.
According to Brigadier General Ari Dono Sukmanto, these fighters must have been in Santoso's network because MIT is the only militant group operating in Poso. However, he is concerned that Santoso's network is expanding to other more populated Indonesian islands, such as Java or Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo. In October 2012, for example, hackers in Santoso's network posted a message on the East Kalimantan government website saying "You should not dare shoot and arrest our unarmed members… If you are really men, then face us" (Borneo Post, October 18, 2012; Antara News [Jakarta], February 7).
On January 21, Indonesian anti-terror Special Detachment Densus 88 captured two MIT militants in Surabaya, Java's second largest city (Surya Citra Televisi [Jakarta], January 21). The two men were found at a gas station with two detonation-ready homemade bombs, other bomb-making materials and several books on jihad. The Inspector General said that the militants were planning to target cafés and entertainment venues in Surabaya, including its red-light district (Surya Citra Televisi [Jakarta], January 21).
Following the arrests in Surabaya, Indonesian police carried out operations to search for other suspected members of Santoso's network in Madura, a small island north of Java (Tribunnews [Jakarta], January 21). While it was unclear whether any arrests were made, the security officers halted traffic on the bridge connecting Surabaya to Madura and confirmed that there were concerns about MIT militants escaping from Java to Madura (Antara News [Jakarta], January 21).
While Santoso's successful attacks on police officers in Indonesia have been mostly confined to Central Sulawesi and, more recently, to Jakarta, his network's recent failed operations in Surabaya and possibly in Madura or Kalimantan suggest that Santoso may be preparing to carry out more attacks with a wider geographic reach. With Indonesian elections scheduled for mid-2014, Santoso has a strong motivation to disrupt the vote and create insecurity to make democracy fail so people chose an Islamic state as an alternative. However, thus far, Densus 88 has managed to stay on top of Santoso's network, while he remains at large somewhere in Central Sulawesi.
