‘Most Wanted’ IS Terrorist Killed In Gun Battle

He later formed the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen, and the group came to the attention of authorities when his men killed two police officers in 2011, propelling Santoso to the top of the most wanted list. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the physical features of the deceased were identical to that of infamous terrorist Santoso, including a mole on his brow, a mole under his lips and a bullet scar on his body.

Santoso, who led the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) and had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS), died in a gunfight Monday in the remote jungle in Poso, along with another MIT member, local media reported. “There were five of them, two of them were killed, three escaped”.

“I have hunted him and I have arrested him before, we have asked people and we have sent people who fought against him (to identify the body)…”

“It’s confirmed that Santoso…is dead”, the official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters by text message.

Santoso’s origins lay in the Muslim-Christian conflict that rocked Poso for three years between 1998 and 2001.

National Police Chief Tito Karnavian said a more detailed test would need to be done.

After Santoso’s death, and raids against the group in the a year ago, only 19 members of the cell remain.

Police are carrying out a DNA test to confirm that the body belongs to the Mujahideen Indonesia Timur leader.

Santoso had been hiding in the mountainous forests of Poso with fellow guerillas, which prompted the launch of Operation Tinombala in January. One of these men has facial characteristics similar to Santoso.

This was apparently after a journalist from the newspaper had obtained a photograph of the corpse and had showed it to Pian.

Santoso was reportedly a former seller of religious books who was inspired by Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, a firebrand cleric and spiritual leader of JI now serving time in an Indonesian prison.

In March, the United States imposed a special terrorist designation on Santoso, blocking any US assets he might have, banning dealings with him by Americans and opening the way for USA law-enforcement action against him.

Santoso and his group of fighters – which have dwindled to around 20 following the authorities’ campaign – were among the few in Indonesia that remained a real threat, after a years-long, largely successful crackdown severely weakened other militant groups.

“The combination of his attacks on police, plus his training, contacts with Syria, and his symbolic importance, make him an important catch”.