Indonesia on high alert after killing Daesh-affiliated leader

Indonesian security forces have been placed on high alert over potential revenge attacks after police killed the country’s most wanted militant earlier this week.

Officials said on Wednesday that the threat level in the country remains high.

This after police confirmed that Santoso, who led an Indonesian group that backed the Daesh Takfiri group, was killed on Monday in a gun battle with security forces on the island of Sulawesi.

Central Sulawesi police chief Rudy Sufahriadi said the security operation would continue in Poso, where Santoso had been hiding.

"There is a possibility of a backlash. They are not terrorists if they do not take revenge," Sufahriadi said.

Chief Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan also said that security operations would be intensified in regions considered hotbeds for terror groups.

Security forces have been looking for some 20 militants from Santoso’s Mujahidin Indonesia Timur group who remain in hiding in the jungles of Sulawesi.

Another man, who was believed to be Santoso’s close aid, was also shot dead during Monday operation.

Santoso, also known as “Abu Wardah,” pledged allegiance to Daesh terror group in 2014.

His group was responsible for carrying out attacks against security forces in Indonesia.

Last year, Indonesian President Joko Widodo escalated the search for Santoso. 

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