TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The spokesperson for the National Police (Polri) Headquarters, Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto, said that the hunt for one of Indonesia's most wanted terrorist, Santoso - codenamed Operation Tinombala - might be extended beyond its' deadline of May 8, 2016. "We're going to evaluate the situation on the ground," said Boy. "Once that's done, we might plan to extend the Operation."
Boy has also asked Santoso and his affiliates to surrender - as his surrender will definitely minimise the collateral that might result from the ensuing manhunt. 'Don't blame us if a firefight causes the death of Santoso's colleague - that is just the reality of what could happen when an armed and violent terrorist group clashes with the military," said Boy, who said that members of the Tinombala taskforce have been divided up and deployed into different zones, but refused to elaborate on the details to minimise the risk of compromising the Operation.
"Obviously I cannot go into specific details, but the Indonesian Police (Polri) and the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) are continuously on the move - remaining mobile as the terrain would allow them to maximize their chances of capturing Santoso," Boys said.
Operation Tinombala actually began on January 2016 with the sole aim of capturing and destroying a terrorist network group spearheaded by Santoso, a violent radical Islamist. The group had dispersed into the mountains to hide in the mountains of Poso, making each cell extremely difficult to track down.
The Operation was supposed to end in March 2016, by the instruction of the Chief of Polri, the Operation has been extended until May 8, 2016.
INGE KLARA SAFITRI
