The Death of the Last Leader of East Indonesia Mujahideen

The last leader of the East Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT), Saturday 18 September 2021, Ali Kalora died after a gun battle with the Madago Raya Operations Unit along with one of his followers, Jaka Ramadhan alias Ikrima in Astina Village, Torue District, Parigi Moutong Regency, Central Sulawesi.

The Madago Raya Operations Task Force is a joint TNI-Polri force consisting of the Special Anti-Terror Detachment 88, the military special operations (Koopsusgab TNI) which is a combination of the elite Kopassus (TNI AD), Marines (TNI AL), and Paskhas (TNI AU). Previously, this Task Force was named the Nemangkawi Operations Task Force and Tinombala Operations which targeted all MIT members who were on the People’s Wanted List (DPO). The Mandago Raya Operations Task Force has been on duty since January 1, 2021 and after that it is extended every 3 months until all MIT DPOs are caught.

Ali Kalora led MIT, a terrorist network affiliated with ISIS, replacing Santosa alias Abu Wardah, who died while dealing with the Tinombala Operations Task Force on July 18, 2016. There is no figure that allows to be his successor. The remaining four people were just followers and had no capacity as Amir or supreme leader.

“The one who has the capacity as the next leader if Ali Kalora is killed is Qatar, but what happened was Qatar died first,” senior researcher at the Center for the Study of Radicalism and Deradicalization (PAKAR) ,Taufiqurrahman told The Apex Chronicles.

Qatar, whose real name is Muhammad Busro, was killed on Sunday, July 11, 2021, in an ambush in the Tokasa mountains, Parigi Moutong Regency by the Madago Raya Operations Task Force. Qatar was killed along with an MIT member named Rukli.

The East Indonesia Mujahidin Group was founded by Santoso alias Abu Wardah in 2010 along with the cadres he trained. In 2014, a group that has close communication with Muhammad Bahrun Naim Anggih Tamtomo alias Bahrun Naim, an ISIS member from Indonesia who is believed to be the one who connected MIT with ISIS.

The group operates in mountainous areas in the districts of Poso, Parigi Moutong and Sigi in the province of Central Sulawesi. They are known for their acts of violence and attacks that intimidate and spread fear directly to the public, especially to those suspected of leaking information about their whereabouts.

In 2020, this group carried out a series of sadistic killings, one of which was arson, namely in Dusun V Trans Lenowu, Lembantongoa Village, Palolo, Sigi on November 27, 2020. One family consisting of father, mother, son and daughter-in-law was brutally murdered. Accompanied by the burning of 6 residents’ houses.

Furthermore, on May 11, 2021, four bodies with wounds to their necks caused by sharp weapons were found by residents around the plantation area in Kalemago Village, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi. The victims, identified as local farmers, were robbed before being killed.

The police have also released acts of violence committed by the MIT group over the past 5 years to respond to the circulation of various narratives that try to lead the opinion that the MIT group is a people’s defense group and is loved by local farmers. This narrative is widely circulated on social media, including through Usman Harun’s Facebook account, which among other things mentions that Ali Kalora never killed residents, let alone farmers, carelessly.

But this was denied by Taufiqurrahman, according to him, it was clearly a narrative spread by sympathizers from the MIT group. Because there have been many robberies accompanied by sadistic murders committed by the group.

“They do have a lot of sympathizers, but in fact, MIT is very feared by the farmers there, if they are not robbed, they are required to give up their agricultural products, if they refuse to be killed,” said Taufiq.

After the deaths of Ali Kalora and Ikrima, it is estimated that currently only 4 people are left at MIT. According to Taufiq, they are already very weak militarily and their weapons are very minimal. They even had to rob and force residents for their logistical needs. But they still cannot be underestimated.

“They must be arrested and confirmed until their network is exhausted, because they are ideologically strong and can spread it even though they do not recruit,” said Taufiq.

The Greater Madago Operations Task Force did not stop pursuing the four remaining MIT members. They combed several areas to find the four remaining MIT members, namely Askar alias Jaid alias Pak Guru, Nae alias Galuh alias Mukhlas, Ahmad Gazali alias Ahmad Panjang, and Suhardin alias Hasan Pranata.

Currently, the National Police Chief has instructed that the four DPO members of MIT be hunted down. The pamphlet with a photo of the four MIT fugitives complete with their aliases was distributed in several areas in Central Sulawesi and divided the Madago Raya Operations Task Force into several teams, namely the bulkhead team, the pursuit team, the security team for vulnerable areas, the National Security and order team, the Binmas team and the community education team. .

“Measured decisive action has been taken against the leadership of the MIT group, it is hoped that all efforts to maintain security and order from the threat of terror groups can become a field of charity for all of us. Maintain this good performance, carry out law enforcement professionally and proportionally to the remaining targets,” said National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo while giving a briefing to the Madago Raya Task Force with the TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto at Kasiguncu Airport, Poso, Central Sulawesi, Tuesday 28 September 2021.