The Roots Of The Formation Of The East Indonesia Mujahidin Terrorist Group (MIT)

Ilustrasi (biema/Pixabay)

JAKARTA - East Indonesian Mujahidin is one of the militant groups in Indonesia. The group known by the acronym MIT is the brain of many acts of terror in Central Sulawesi (Central Sulawesi). MIT, which is based in Poso, is also often referred to as the mouthpiece of the Iraqi-Syrian Islamic guerrilla organization (ISIS). Most recently, they killed a family in Sigi.

Friday, November 27, a number of MIT group members visited Lembatongoa Village, Sigi Regency, Central Sulawesi. At 09.00 WITA, they had time to rest against a family. The four family members were later executed. The killers also burned down several houses around the village.

"It is true and that was the incident this morning. There were four victims, namely the wife or the owner of the house, her son and daughter-in-law or the husband of the daughter of the owner of the house." said the Secretary of Lembatongoa Village.

The victims were Yasa, the head of the family. Yasa was killed along with his wife, biological daughter, and son-in-law. Central Sulawesi Police Chief Inspector General Abd Rakhman Baso said the sadistic murder was carried out by the MIT group, which is currently led by Ali Kalora.

Head of Public Relations of the Central Sulawesi Police, Kombes Didik Suparnoto, explained that the attack was carried out in groups. Ali Kalora is even said to have been directly involved in the massacre.

"So they were moving in full circle. (MIT's relationship with the families of the dead) did not exist. So they sometimes like to carry out random actions. They are called terrorists, so they carry out acts of terror to frighten the public," said Didik.

History of MIT

The 2000s were the year when many terrorist groups were born in Indonesia. The formation of Jamaah Ansharus Tauhid (JAT) in Poso is an embryo of MIT. JAT is one of the terrorist groups with the largest network in Indonesia. One of the founders of JAT, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, is a former leader of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

The commander of the Poso branch of the JAT laskar was Santoso alias Abu Wardah Asy Ayarqi. Gunitna Rohan and Kam Stefanie Li Yee, in the book Handbook of Terrorism in The Asia-Pacific (2016) explain that Santoso may not have been very popular at that time, but Santoso is known to be experienced.

His track record was long before joining JAT, Santoso was involved in the Poso riots since 1998. His experience would have led him to become the leader of MIT.

Through his influence, Santoso then has many followers. He also held military training at two places in the Poso area in 2010.

Two years later, Santoso proclaimed himself the supreme leader (Amir) of MIT in 2012. That year MIT took a number of major actions. Their strength is that they are able to take advantage of internet technology to carry out actions.

“One of the factors that makes Santoso a magnet for hardline jihadists is their appearance in the media propagated at extremist forums in two languages. Indonesian and Arabic. The Santoso group, MIT came to the attention of the authorities after they hacked the Indonesian military (TNI-AD) site and the sites of several other government agencies, "said Rohan and Li Yee.

ISIS's main mouthpiece in Indonesia

Santoso and friends have distributed a dozen videos, audios and messages in Indonesian to various extremist forums. Through these contents they spread threats, especially to Indonesia's elite counter-terrorism unit, Densus 88. These things are MIT's way of magnifying their crimes.

“Santoso and his group are the most wanted people in Indonesia. The Indonesian National Police Chief, General Badrodin Haiti (2014-2015) stated that Santoso is the leader of MIT, the only group in Indonesia that alleges allegiance to the Islamic countries of Iraq and Syria or ISIS. "The santoso group is the most solid and militant," said Badrodin. There are now 37 members of the Badrodin group, ”said Sunudyantoro, Amar Burase, and Dewi Suci Rahayu in an article in Tempo Magazine entitled Former Parang Seller di Gunung Biru (2016).

This was confirmed by Santoso's allegiance to ISIS which was uploaded by the MIT leader to Youtube on June 30, 2014. In the 12.5-minute video, Santoso stated that MIT pledged allegiance to Daulah Islam or Khilafah Islamiyyah - another name for ISIS - and Abu Bakar al- Baghdadi, the leader.

"O our noble Sheikh. Know that every young mujahidin here is with you, loves you, supports you, and makes you an amir (leader) and role model in jihad fi sabilillah in our region. And we in the eastern part of Indonesia are your soldiers and the supporting bricks of the Islamic daughters that you lead, "said Santoso.

The hunt for Santoso and friends is getting more intense. Santoso died in a shootout with the Tinombala Operations Task Force (Satgas) formed by the Central Sulawesi Regional Police in the interior of Poso on July 18, 2016. Muhammad Basri alias Bagong continued his leadership at MIT.

Basri's leadership ended when he was arrested on September 14, 2016. The absence of the MIT leader left one of Santoso's loyal followers, Ali Kalora on the baton of the leadership.