Indonesia has launched an aggressive, military-backed, security campaign in the jungles of Sulawesi island as it battles the threat from growing domestic support for the Islamic State militant group.
Indonesian police said the two men killed in a clash on Tuesday were from China’s Uygur Muslim minority who had joined Indonesia’s most high-profile backer of Islamic State, a militant called Santoso, in central Sulawesi. Santoso, Indonesia’s most wanted man, has been on the run for more than three years.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he had noted the reports about the shoot-out and was trying to find out more.
China and Indonesia are both victims of terrorism and are facing new threats from the changing international and regional counterterrorism environment
“China and Indonesia are both victims of terrorism and are facing new threats from the changing international and regional counterterrorism environment,” he told a daily news briefing.
“In recent years, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement [ETIM] terrorist forces have continued to increase their infiltration of Indonesia and have linked up with Indonesian terrorist extremist groups and have opened a transhipment route for people to participate in international terrorist activities,” Lu added.