The Jakarta Post, 1/22/2007 12:17:52 PM
10 killed in gunbattle in Poso, report says
POSO, Central Sulawesi (Agencies): An anti-terror squad Monday raided an Islamic
militant stronghold in Central Sulawesi's town of Poso, touching off a gunbattle that
killed nine civilians and one officer, a police officer said.
The clash took place in Poso, the scene of bloody fighting between Muslim and
Christian gangs six years ago and sporadic bombings and shootings by Islamic
extremists since then, said Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Badrodin Haiti.
Security forces arrested 18 other alleged militants and seized a large haul of bombs
and weapons in the three-hour exchange, a sharp escalation in the fight against
terrorism in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
"If they did not fire at us, there is no way we would have attacked them," Badrodin told
The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Antara news agency reported previously that the shootings occurred in a
number of areas in a restive town, which was hit by religious conflicts since late
1990s.
Zulkifli Kay, a resident of Kayamanya subdistrict, said that he saw at least five
civilians were killed during the gunbattle, which had taken place since 8 a.m.
Among the casualties are Brig. Rony -- an anti-terror police officer -- and several
civilians -- Om Gam, Mahmud, Yakub, and Idrus.
"All those bodies were taken by police officers, maybe to Poso police office or
hospital," Zulkifli was quoted as saying.
The incident sparked by the police effort to arrest a number of people who are
allegedly involved in religious riots in the town also caused many other people suffered
from minor and serious wounds.
Markets, schools and officers were closed following the incident.
On Jan. 11, police in Poso killed a man they said was a senior member of the
al-Qaida-linked regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, which was blamed for the
2002 Bali bombings and other deadly attacks in Indonesia in recent years.
Since then, officers have clashed several times with suspected militants. (**)
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