Daesh Supporter Arrested İn Indonesia's Sulawesi: Police

Indonesia's counter-terrorism squad has arrested a scholar who allegedly helped people join Daesh on Sulawesi island, in whose jungles the military recently launched operations, according to local media Saturday.



Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto, Detachment 88 spokesperson, said a suspected "terrorist" identified as MB – aka Basri --was captured Friday in an ambush near his home in South Sulawesi province's capital Makassar.



Rianto said Basri was accused of facilitating travel to Syria and accommodating fugitives, Metro Tv reported.



Ahmad Sanusi, a witness, was "ed as saying, "he was captured and taken aboard a car. Shortly after the arrests, his students in boarding school came looking for him."  



Basri, who managed a boarding school, had been wanted by police since 2014. Despite reports that he gave speeches promoting Daesh and had students take oaths in support of extremist groups, he had not been arrested due to lack of evidence.



Following his arrest Friday, Basri was flown to the capital of Jakarta and taken to national police headquarters for further investigation.



Rianto said Basri had been involved in a failed bomb attack against South Sulawesi's governor, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, in Nov. 2012.



Earlier this week, police in South Sulawesi's Wajo regency arrested a suspect who was allegedly involved in several "terror" activities, including the killings of two police officers in Poso town.



Inspector General Anton Setiadji, head of the South and West Sulawesi police, confirmed the capture Tuesday of Ambo Ece, 35, a follower of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (EIM). 



He said that that fugitives from Central Sulawesi's Poso, whose mountains are known as bases for extremist groups, had been traveling to South Sulawesi.



"There are some hiding places [among terrorists] in South Sulawesi," Kompas.com "ed Setiadji as saying.



Earlier this month, the military launched a six-month counter-terrossim operation to help eradicate the EIM, which is accused of terrorizing villagers. Around 600 members of the army's elite unit remain stationed in Poso.



According to the army, a group under the commander of EIM leader Santoso – who has declared loyalty to Daesh - has left its hideout in the Biru mountains.



Since 2012, firefights have been recurring in the Poso region between police and the EIM. - Endonezya