Police are searching for members of a group believed to have ties to the Islamic State after a deadly attack in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province.
The attack, which occurred in an isolated community in Central Sulawesi, left four people dead and six homes burned down, including a makeshift local church.
Central Sulawesi police chief Abdul Rakhman Baso told VOA on Saturday (Nov. 28) that the attack took place around 9 a.m. local time on Friday in Sigi district of Central Sulawesi province, where one victim was beheaded and another burned to death. Based on eyewitness accounts, investigators believe that eight members of the East Indonesia Mujahideen (EIM) group were responsible for the attack.
Two of the perpetrators were armed with long and short guns, and security forces were tracking the suspects, Director Basso said. He said, “I condemn this barbaric and inhumane act. I hope our community will not be provoked. Our police will provide security to them. This is an act of pure barbarism by the ‘East Indonesia Jundallah’.”
Speaking to reporters in the capital, Jakarta, Indonesian National Police spokesman Awi Setiyono said, “We are operating on the ground. There are about 100 people tracking them.”
The motive for Saturday’s attack is unclear, but PNTL Task Force 88 recently killed two terror suspects during an arrest operation in Central Sulawesi province. Police have yet to say whether the two incidents are related.
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