Terrorists attack police in Poso, injuring one

The Jakarta Post, Palu, Wednesday October 08 2014,


Poso residents were busy preparing for early morning prayers when a loud bomb ripped through the village of Dewua in Poso Pesisir district, Poso regency.

Security forces quickly mobilized, as a group of police from Central Sulawesi Police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) together with Poso Police’s Sabhara quick-response unit rushed to the scene in a Barracuda tank and two trucks at 7 a.m.. Some five kilometers before reaching the scene, however, a group of unknown assailants opened fire from a hill on the right side of the road.

Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Susnadi later told the media that police and the unknown group exchanged gunfire for about 30 minutes. He added that there were no fatalities in the firefight, but that one police officer, Pvt. Supandi, sustained minor injuries to his hand.

“It was only a light injury to his hand,” Susnadi said.

Acting Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Utoro Saputro said the Barracuda tank was shot three times on the front window and eight times on the body. Meanwhile, one Brimob truck was shot on the left side and on the rear.

“There are numerous bullet holes in the vehicles,” he said.

Utoro said a police officer reported that the convoy was attacked by some 10 people from on top of a hill. The police shot back, but the perpetrators managed to escape. He said the police would continue pursuing those responsible for the shootings, but that no arrests had been made as of Tuesday afternoon.

Over the past few days, police have been searching for terror network leaders Santoso and Daeng Koro, who are believed to be the leaders of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) hard-line group. Utoro said the police believed that the police-targeting was led by particular group that was likely retaliation for the arrest on Sunday of three men suspected of being members of the MIT.

One of the arrested suspects, Farid, was wanted for his alleged involvement in the shooting of a police officer at the Palu branch of Bank Central Asia (BCA) three years ago.

In September, a joint team in Poso began conducting large-scale operations to subdue Santos and Daeng Koro following the murder of Poso resident M. Fadli, 50.

With his wife watching, Fadli was murdered in Padalembara village, Poso Pesisir Selatan district, Central Sulawesi. Shortly after the murder, the MIT claimed responsibility for the killing.

According to the group, the murder was meant to deter residents from becoming informants for the National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism unit.

In February of this year, two MIT members, Fani and Abu Ayman, were shot and killed during a raid by police.

In the late 1990’s, Poso was a hotspot of sectarian violence following the downfall of the New Order regime. The Malino II peace accord signed in February 2002 brought calm to the region, but within a decade, terrorist activity returned to Central Sulawesi, with police say saying that it has become a terrorist stronghold.



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