Indonesian security forces have killed
three more suspected militants linked to the country's most wanted Islamic
radical.
Two men were fatally shot in a clash Wednesday near
Siliwanga village in Poso district and the body believed to be another militant
killed in an earlier clash was also discovered in a river.
The deaths brought to five the number militants killed
this week as security forces including elite army troops intensify their
operations in Sulawesi against Indonesia's most wanted militant, Abu Wardah
Santoso, who leads the East Indonesia Mujahidin network that has pledged
allegiance to the Islamic State group.
Earlier this week, police killed two suspected Chinese
Uighur militants who were also believed to be linked to the group, which is
thought to be hiding in Poso, a mountainous district considered Indonesia's
terrorist hotbed. Police believe four other foreigners are still with the
group.
Authorities believe some ethnic minority Uighurs have
entered Indonesia to join forces with local militants at the urging of Santoso,
who has claimed responsibility for the killings of several police officers.
Last July, an Indonesian court sentenced four Uighurs,
arrested in September 2014 in Central Sulawesi, to six years in prison for
conspiring with militants from Santoso's network. Another suspected Uighur
militant who was allegedly preparing to be a suicide bomber was arrested in
December near Jakarta. Associated Press, Jakarta
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