Indonesia announces the killing of a leader of an ISIS-linked group in clashes

The Indonesian military announced, on Saturday, the killing of “Ali Kalora”, one of the most wanted men linked to the terrorist organization “ISIS”, during armed clashes with security forces, during an anti-terror campaign in the jungles of “Sulawesi” island (one of the 4 islands that make up “Sunda”). Greater Indonesia).

“During the exchange of fire, two militants were killed, one of whom was Ali Kallura, a wanted terrorist, and the other, Jaka Ramadan,” the leader of the East Indonesia Mujahideen network, the Associated Press quoted the American “Associated Press” agency as saying. An armed group that pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014.

Makrov added that the two men were shot dead during a raid late Saturday by a joint team of army and police officers in the mountainous Baregy Mutung area of ​​Central Sulawesi province, on the border of Poso, the stronghold of extremists in the province.

The East Indonesia Mujahideen group claimed responsibility for several killings of police officers and Christian minorities.

In recent months, security operations in Central Sulawesi have intensified; Trying to capture the group’s members and eliminate Calora.

For more than a decade, the authorities have been trying to arrest Kallura, who took over the leadership position of the group from Abu Warda Santoso, who was killed by security forces in July 2016 and has killed and captured dozens of other leaders and members of the group since then.

And last May, militants killed 4 Christians in the village of “Kalimago” in the “Poso” area (one of the strongholds of militants in the province), including one who was beheaded.

The authorities said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of two militants, including Santoso’s son, last March.

Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country in terms of population, has continued its crackdown on militants since the 2002 bombings of the tourist island of Bali, which killed 202 people, most of them foreigners.

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