Indonesia minister stabbed by IS-linked pair

Yahoo – AFP, Agnes Anya, 10 October 2019

Indonesia's chief security minister Wiranto was rushed by helicopter to
Jakarta after a assassination attempt

Two members of an Islamic State group-linked terror network stabbed Indonesia's chief security minister Wiranto on Thursday, the intelligence head said, sending the powerful politician to emergency surgery for his wounds.

Television images showed security officers wrestling a man and woman to the ground in Pandeglang on Java island after the attack on Wiranto, who goes by one name, as he was exiting a vehicle.

The suspects were identified as 31-year-old Syahril Alamsyah and Fitri Andriana, 21 -- a married couple, according to local media.

They were members of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an extremist group responsible for deadly suicide bombings at churches in Indonesia's second-biggest city Surabaya last year, State Intelligence Agency chief Budi Gunawan told reporters in Jakarta.

JAD is among dozens of radical groups that have pledged loyalty to the Islamic State (IS) group in Indonesia, which has long struggled with Islamist militancy.

Police said Indonesia's chief security minister Wiranto was one of several 

targets in a failed assasination plot earlier this year

Wiranto, 72 -- who police have said was one of several targets in an earlier failed assassination plot -- was rushed by helicopter to the capital, where he was treated for two knife wounds in his stomach.

A three-hour operation "went well", Indonesian cabinet secretary Pramono Anung told reporters at Gatot Subroto army hospital.

Anung said he had just seen Wiranto, whose "operation had finished and he entered the ICU."

"It is being handled very well by the hospital," he said in video posted by the detik.com news website.

President Joko Widodo earlier said Wiranto was "in surgery and I ask that all Indonesians pray that he gets well soon."

"And I ask for everyone's help in fighting radicalism and terrorism because we can only do it together," he added.

Three other victims -- a local police chief and two aides -- had non-life-threatening 

injuries from an attack that wounded Indonesia's chief security minister Wiranto

The assassination attempt comes just over a week before Widodo kicks off a second term as leader of the Southeast Asian archipelago of some 260 million people, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation.

Three others -- a local police chief and two aides -- also suffered knife wounds in Thursday's attack but authorities said they had non-life-threatening injuries.

'Fought the police'

An eyewitness told an AFP reporter that the female attacker was dressed in garments that covered her body and face.

"When the car stopped, there were people circling around, protecting him," he said.

"But a man got into the circle and stabbed Wiranto. The woman also tried to stab him. He was arrested and the woman fought the police."

Last year, JAD staged a wave of suicide bombings by families -- including young children -- at churches in Surabaya, killing a dozen congregants.

Authorities routinely arrest suspected Islamic State group-loyal militants 

that they claim were planning bomb and other attacks

Many past attacks by Indonesian militants have been against police and other state symbols.

Authorities routinely arrest suspected IS-loyal militants that they claim were planning bomb and other attacks.

"JAD members are targeting what they call Ansharut Thagut (tyranny) and that includes senior government officials," said Muhammad Syauqillah, program director of the University of Indonesia's Terrorism Study Center.

Wiranto, the retired chief of the armed forces and a failed presidential candidate, was appointed to his post in 2016 and oversees several departments, including the foreign affairs and defence ministries.

He has faced controversy over alleged human rights violations and allegations of crimes against humanity linked to Indonesia's brutal occupation of East Timor.

In May, police said Wiranto and three other top officials were targeted in a failed assassination plot linked to deadly riots in Jakarta after Widodo's re-election victory.

A group of six people -- arrested before they could carry out the killings -- planned to murder the officials and an election pollster in a bid to plunge the country into chaos, police said at the time.

Two families staged Indonesian suicide bombings: police

Yahoo – AFP, Juni Kriswanto, May 14, 2018

The spate of bombings has rocked Indonesia, with the Islamic State group claiming
the church attacks and raising fears about its influence in Southeast Asia (AFP
Photo/Andy PINARIA)

Surabaya (Indonesia) (AFP) - A family of five, including a child, carried out the suicide bombing of a police headquarters in Indonesia's second city Surabaya on Monday, police said, a day after a deadly wave of attacks on churches staged by another family.

The spate of bombings has rocked Indonesia, with the Islamic State group claiming both the church and police station attacks, raising fears about its influence in Southeast Asia as its dreams of a Middle Eastern caliphate fade.

Indonesia, which is set to host the Asian Games in just three months, has long struggled with Islamist militancy, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed over 200 people -- mostly foreign tourists -- in the country's worst-ever terror attack.

Security forces have arrested hundreds of militants during a sustained crackdown that smashed some networks, and most recent attacks have been low-level and targeted domestic security forces.

But that changed Sunday as a family of six -- including girls aged nine and 12 -- staged suicide bombings of three churches during morning services in Surabaya, killing 18 including the bombers.

On Monday members of another family blew themselves up at a police station in the city, wounding 10.

"There were five people on two motorbikes. One of them was a little kid," national police chief Tito Karnavian said. "This is one family."

Indonesia Surabaya family attacks (AFP Photo/John SAEKI)

An eight-year-old girl from the family survived the attack and was taken to hospital, while her mother, father and two brothers died in the blast, he said.

"A martyrdom-seeking operation with an explosive-laden motorcycle hit the gate of an Indonesian police headquarters," IS's official Amaq agency reported, according to SITE.

The children were likely led to their deaths without a full awareness of their fate, said Ade Banani, of the University of Indonesia’s research centre of police science and terrorism studies.

If a family believed in traditional roles, the father "has the power, so everyone has to obey", Banani said.

"The children probably don't know what's going on or don't understand."

The father of the church suicide bombers was a local leader in extremist network Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) which supports IS, and the second family was also linked to JAD.

"It ordered and gave instructions for its cells to make a move," Karnavian said of the Islamic State's role in the church attacks.

He added that the bombings may have also been motivated by the arrest of JAD leaders, including jailed radical Aman Abdurrahman, and were linked to a deadly prison riot staged by Islamist prisoners at a high-security jail near Jakarta last week.

Abdurrahman has been connected to several deadly incidents, including a 2016 gun and suicide attack in the capital Jakarta that left four attackers and four civilians dead.

Despite their apparent allegiance to IS, the church-bombing family were not returnees from Syria, police said Monday, correcting their earlier statements.

However, hundreds of Indonesians have flocked in recent years to fight alongside IS there.

Its ambitions have been reined in after losing most of the land it once occupied in Iraq and Syria, and there are concerns that jihadists will now turn their focus on establishing a base in Southeast Asia.

Indonesian police have foiled numerous terror plots, but the coordinated nature of

 the church bombings and subsequent blasts point to more sophisticated planning 

than in the past, analysts said (AFP Photo/JUNI KRISWANTO)

'Increasingly proficient'

On Sunday evening, just hours after the church bombings, a further three people in another family were killed and two wounded when another bomb exploded at an apartment complex about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Surabaya.

That explosion appeared to have been an accidental detonation that killed a mother and her 17-year-old child who was not identified.

The woman's husband -- a confidante of the husband behind the church bombings, Dita Oepriyanto -- was badly injured in the explosion.

Police said they arrived after the explosion and shot dead the injured man, Anton Febrianto, as he held a bomb detonator in his hand.

"When we searched the flat we found pipe bombs, similar to pipe bombs we found near the churches," said Karnavian.

Police said they also shot dead four suspects,including the second-ranking member of the JAD cell in Surabaya, in raids on houses and offices Monday while nine others were arrested.

Indonesian police have foiled numerous terror plots, but the coordinated nature of Sunday's church bombings and the subsequent blasts point to more sophisticated planning than in the past, analysts said.

"There is definitely a growing technical proficiency," said Zachary Abuza, Southeast Asian security expert at the National War College in Washington.

"To pull off three near-simultaneous bombings is the hallmark of a group that is thinking."

Abuza questioned the police suggestion that the attacks were ordered by the IS leadership abroad, but said it would likely boost its presence in Southeast Asia as it fades elsewhere.

"(They're) going to continue to benefit from operating transnationally in Southeast Asia," he said.

#UPDATE A family of five, including a child, carried out the suicide bombing of a police headquarters in Indonesia's second city #Surabaya, police say, a day after a deadly wave of attacks on churches staged by another family https://t.co/K7zyQmf76f

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 14, 2018

Deadly Indonesia church suicide bombings committed by one family

Yahoo – AFP, Juni Kriswanto, May 13, 2018

Indonesia has been on high alert over attacks by militants (AFP Photo/
JUNI KRISWANTO)

A family of six including two young daughters staged suicide bombings at three Indonesian churches during Sunday services, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens in attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.

The bombings at three churches in Surabaya were Indonesia's deadliest for years, as the world's biggest Muslim-majority country grapples with homegrown militancy and rising intolerance towards religious minorities.

A further three people were killed and two wounded when another bomb exploded at an apartment complex in Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, just hours later, police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The church bombers -- a mother and father, two daughters aged nine and 12, and two sons aged 16 and 18 -- were linked to local extremist network Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) which supports IS, said national police chief Tito Karnavian.

Local media reports say they may have returned from Syria, where hundreds of Indonesians have flocked in recent years to fight alongside IS in its bid to carve out a caliphate ruled by strict Islamic law.

The mother, identified as Puji Kuswati, and her two daughters were wearing niqab face veils and had bombs strapped to their waists as they entered the grounds of the Kristen Indonesia Diponegoro Church and blew themselves up, Karnavian said.

The father, JAD cell leader Dita Priyanto, drove a bomb-laden car into the Surabaya Centre Pentecostal Church while his sons rode motorcycles into Santa Maria church, where they detonated explosives they were carrying, Karnavian said.

"All were suicide attacks but the types of bombs are different," he said of the church attacks.

Police and soldiers examine a site following attacks outside the Surabaya 

Centre Pentecostal Church (AFP Photo/JUNI KRISWANTO)

Coordinated attacks

The group, led by jailed radical Aman Abdurrahman, has been linked to several deadly incidents, including a 2016 gun and suicide attack in the capital Jakarta that left four attackers and four civilians dead.

That was the first assault claimed by IS in Southeast Asia.

Police on Sunday said four suspected JAD members were killed in a shootout during raids linked to a deadly prison riot this week.

Five members of Indonesia's elite anti-terrorism squad and a prisoner were killed in clashes that saw Islamist inmates take a guard hostage at a high-security jail on the outskirts of Jakarta. IS claimed responsibility.

Karnavian said Sunday's church attacks may have been revenge for the arrest of some of JAD's leaders and for the prison crisis which eventually saw the surrender of the radical inmates.

The Pope offered support over "the severe attack against places of worship", while President Joko Widodo called for Indonesians to "unite against terrorism".

"The state will not tolerate this act of cowardice," he told reporters in Surabaya.

East Java police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera confirmed the deaths of 13 people in the church bombings, with about 40 injured in the coordinated attacks at around 7:30 am (0030 GMT).

Images showed a vehicle engulfed in flames and plumes of thick black smoke as a body lay outside the gate of Santa Maria Catholic church, with motorcycles toppled over amid the mangled debris.

In addition to the suicide blast police experts defused two unexploded bombs at the Surabaya Centre Pentecostal Church.

Later on Sunday night a bomb killed three people and wounded two, all from the same family, who occupied the fifth floor of a low-cost Surabaya apartment complex, East Java police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera said.

"Three people have died, two are in the hospital and one is safe," he told AFP via Whatsapp.

Police with dogs examine a site following attacks outside the Surabaya Centre 

Pentecostal Church (AFP Photo/JUNI KRISWANTO)

The explosion hit the apartment complex about 9 pm, local media reported, and residents were evacuated from the building after the blast.

Yono, tenant coordinator at the apartment block, said the family had lived there since 2015.

'Professional' attacks

Concerns about sectarian intolerance in Indonesia have been on the rise, with churches targeted in the past.

Nearly 90 percent of Indonesia's 260 million people are Muslim, but there are significant numbers of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.

Police shot and wounded an IS-inspired radical who attacked a church congregation outside Indonesia's cultural capital Yogyakarta with a sword during a Sunday mass in February. Four people were injured.

In 2000 bombs disguised as Christmas gifts and delivered to churches and clergymen killed 19 people on Christmas Eve and injured scores more across the country.

The archipelago nation of some 17,000 islands has long struggled with Islamic militancy, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people -- mostly foreign tourists -- in the country's worst-ever terror attack.

Sunday's bombings had the highest death toll since nine people were killed in 2009 attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta.

Security forces have arrested hundreds of militants during a sustained crackdown in recent years that smashed some networks, and most recent attacks have been low-level and targeted domestic security forces.

But the coordinated nature of Sunday's bombings suggested a higher level of planning, analysts said.

"Recent (previous) attacks have been far less 'professional'," Sidney Jones, an expert on Southeast Asian terrorism and director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, told AFP.

Indonesian foreign minister: 'Trying to create a culture of tolerance'

Concerns abound in recent times about the threats posed by radicalization and terrorism to Indonesian society. The country's foreign minister spoke to DW about how the government is tackling these issues.

Deutsche Welle, 20 February 2017

DW: There are growing concerns about increasing radicalization in Indonesia. How vulnerable is the country to this threat?

Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi: Let me start by saying that radicalization is not a problem limited to any particular country. The threats of radicalism and terrorism are faced by almost every nation worldwide. We discussed them during the G20 meeting and also ways to improve and coordinate counter-terrorism measures.

Terrorism is one of the most challenging threats to world peace. In 2015, for example, outfits affiliated to IS [the so-called Islamic State terror group] were responsible for carrying out attacks in 28 countries. That figure was twice the number of attacks in 2014. Over the past 16 years, 93 nations have experienced terror attacks, resulting in some 32,000 deaths. I, therefore, would like to stress that no country is immune to terrorism.

What measures are being put in place by Indonesia to deal with these threats?

I think Indonesia is a good example for how to cope with such threats. We have the biggest Muslim population of any other country in the world, and at the same time our community is very heterogeneous. We are therefore trying to create a culture of tolerance.

Since the birth of Indonesia as a country, we Indonesians know we have different ethnicities and multiple religions, but we all want to have one country - Indonesia. So a culture of tolerance is always there. However, as evidenced by almost all countries, Indonesia has also faced radicalization and the threat of terrorism. But Indonesia has so far been able to cope with the situation.

Whereas most countries focus on hard power to counter radicalism and terrorism, Indonesia has laid emphasis on a soft power approach, and it's working very well.

How do you think the fears surrounding radicalism would impact Indonesia's economic development prospects?

I don't think international investors are worried at all about the threat of radicalization in Indonesia, as everybody is aware that this kind of danger exists everywhere. Regarding foreign investment, the president of Indonesia has always stressed his commitment to make the nation's economy more open and competitive. This is reflected in the government's initiatives over the past year, when we introduced 14 economic reform packages. With these measures, we do hope to draw in more foreign investment into our fast-expanding economy.

Again, we are striving to make our economy more open and competitive and this should attract greater foreign investment into the country.

Many are calling on Indonesia to step up its efforts to help tackle the Rohingya crisis. How do you envisage the Indonesian government's response to the problem?

To start with, Myanmar is an ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] country, like Indonesia. If something happens in Myanmar, it will surely affect the rest of the region. So there are only two options here: either help Myanmar resolve the problem or don't help.

Indonesia, for its part, has decided to actively and constructively engage with Myanmar. We understand the problem there, which created a humanitarian crisis and a security concern in Rakhine state. We continue to convey our concerns to the Myanmar government and stress on the need to create an environment that is conducive for peace in Rakhine.   

Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi:

 'Indonesia has decided to actively and

 constructively engage with Myanmar' 

on the Rohingya issue

We have also communicated with Myanmar on the importance of protecting and respecting the human rights of all communities, including the Muslim communities. We also underline the significance of inclusive economic development, particularly in Rakhine state.

This way, we convey our views, concerns and criticisms to our counterparts in the Myanmar government, while offering our assistance at the same time.

Furthermore, I have discussed the issue of Rohingyas with many stakeholders, including Kofi Annan. I have visited Myanmar three times, traveled to Dhaka and paid a visit to the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.

I want to underscore that we would like to not only help Myanmar in addressing the immediate issues in Rakhine state, but also provide more medium- and long-term assistance for the country's development.

Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi is currently serving as Indonesia's foreign minister.

The interview was conducted by Vidi Legowo-Zipperer during the recent G20 foreign ministers summit in Bonn, Germany.

'This time is different': Istanbul tourism reels after attacks

Yahoo – AFP, Fulya Ozerkan, January 12, 2017

The number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul,dropped to 9.2 million in 2016,
a 26-percent decline on the previous year (AFP Photo/Ozan Kose)

Istanbul (AFP) - Yavuz Indere has worked as a hotel receptionist in Istanbul for nearly half a century, witnessing coups, unrest and economic crises.

But as a string of terror attacks erodes the backbone of Turkey's key tourism sector, Indere admits he has never seen anything like this in the city.

"I've been doing this job for 45 years, obviously I've had tough years, but this time it was different," he told AFP at his tiny hotel in the historic Sultanahmet area, the scene of a deadly attack on January 12 last year that rocked the tourism industry.

Exactly a year on from the bombing blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists which killed 12 German tourists in the heart of the city, many hotels are suffering, and some have closed their doors for good.

"The heart of the problem is that terrorist attacks do not stop. People who go to visit a country want a guarantee ... I understand them, it is a human reflex," Indere said.

That attack was followed by a slew of strikes blamed on IS and Kurdish militants that killed hundreds in Turkey in 2016, capped by the gunning down of 39 revellers at Istanbul's glamourous Reina nightclub by a suspected jihadist on New Year's night.

'Lost my dear travellers'

There were no official ceremonies to mark the Sultanahmet bombing and the anniversary was barely mentioned on Turkish television.

But Sibel Satiroglu, the tourist guide who was with the Germans that day, laid single red carnations on each spot where a body had fallen in a lonely and personal act of remembrance.

"It is a year today since I lost my dear people and travellers. Faced with their pain, in their absence, I pay my respects," she told AFP

"I curse those who have done this, planned this, produced this. Those I lost, I love them all, I love them and they will always live with me," she said as she sobbed with grief.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul, with its historic mosques and Ottoman palaces, dropped to 9.2 million in 2016, a 26-percent decline on the previous year, tourism ministry statistics show.

Istanbul: a year of attacks (AFP Photo)

Tourists can still be spotted on Sultanahmet -- home to sights including the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia -- but there is no sign of the crowds that once thronged the area and souvenir sellers look forlornly at their stalls.

The Sultanahmet attack was followed by another one on the busy Istiklal shopping street last March, which left three Israelis and an Iranian dead.

A gun and bomb attack on the city's Ataturk airport in June slaughtered 47 people, including 19 foreigners.

Then on July 15, a failed coup attempt left dozens dead in Istanbul alone while a December double bombing near the Besiktas football stadium claimed by Kurdish militants killed 46 people.

"The airport was attacked, Sultanahmet was attacked, then Taksim was attacked, and finally the Reina (nightclub), which for me is an attack on the heart of tourism," said Cetin Gurcun, secretary general of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB).

The country as a whole has paid a steep price: while 42 million people visited Turkey in 2015, some 12 million fewer travelled there in 2016, Gurcun said.

"In foreign currency terms, revenues amounted to 31.6 billion dollars in 2015, and we had a fall of almost 10 billion dollars in 2016," he added.

In 2015 tourism accounted for 4.4 percent of Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the latest figures available.

'Can't let terrorists win'

Adding to the tensions, the search continues for an IS-claimed jihadist who rampaged through the Reina nightclub in the early hours of 2017, shooting revellers, including Arab and European tourists, before escaping.

"It does worry me but you know, if you do not come, then you let the terrorists win," said John Plas, a tourist from the Netherlands.

Security measures have been heightened in the wake of the attacks, with heavily armed police patrolling streets.

Tourist guide Umran Aslan said it helped make her feel safer: "They're trying to protect us. I feel better when I see police everywhere".

But she admitted it was unlikely to reassure tourists. "it's so sad, because I love my job".

Failed Suicide Bomber Attacks Catholic Church in Medan

Jakarta Globe, Farouk Arnaz & Donny Andhika Mononimbar, August 28, 2016

Police attend the scene in Medan on Sunday (28/08). (Antara Photo/Irsan Mulyadi)

Jakarta. A suicide bomb attempt at a Catholic church in Medan, North Sumatra, Sunday morning (28/08) has left the suspect with minor injuries after the bomb failed to detonate correctly.

Father Albert S. Pandingan was leading the Sunday service at Medan's St. Yoseph church when the suspect, identified as I.A.H., ran towards to pulpit and attempted to stab the priest. The bomb hidden in the suspect's vest failed to detonate, only creating sparks which injured the would-be attacker. The priest sustained only minor scratches to his arm.

I.A.H. is a 17-year-old student from Setia Budi in Medan Selayang, North Sumatra.

Members of the church congregation seized the suspect, who was carrying a knife, an axe and a pipe bomb in his backpack, before police arrived to clear and secure the venue.

“We have seized a back backpack from the perpetrator. The perpetrator is alive and injured and there are no casualties in this incident,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar told Beritasatu.

Boy also said police had found what a drawing that resembles the Islamic State flag. It remains unclear if the suspect is affiliated with a terror cell and police are investigating potential links.

In early July, a day before Idul Fitri celebrations, a suicide bomber targeted the Solo police headquarters but killed only himself.

Man detained after Indonesian priest injured in church attack https://t.co/OrwvgJRtAb pic.twitter.com/1EdgobkByg

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 28, 2016

Amnesty Considered for Members of Santoso's Group: Chief Security Minister

Jakarta Globe, Robertus Wardi, July 21, 2016

Chief Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the government may offer amnesty to
 the remaining members of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) after the death of
its leader Santoso in a shootout with soldiers and police in Poso, Central Sulawesi
earlier this week. (Antara Photo/Reno Esnir)

Jakarta. The government may offer amnesty to the remaining members of the East Indonesia Mujahidin, or MIT, after the death of its leader Santoso in a shootout with soldiers and police in Poso, Central Sulawesi earlier this week.

The National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) are currently hunting for another 19 group members of the group and the amnesty will be offered if they surrender and refrain from putting up any resistance.

"If they would come out from the mountains, we will consider [giving them amnesty]. They are also Indonesian citizens," Chief Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said in Jakarta on Thursday (21/07).

Luhut said that while the 19 remaining members are known to still be in the Poso region, the amnesty could be a preferred option to get them to surrender.

This option is realistic, as it will not require additional state expenses to look for the remaining members of the group and that it will also save their lives.

"It does not mean that we cannot adopt a tough approach. Santoso was killed for not responding to the soft approach," Luhut said.

Police carry a body bag at a local hospital in Palu, Indonesia's Sulawesi province,
on July 19, 2016, after a firefight between suspected Muslim extremists and
security forces in the village of Tambarana (AFP Photo/Olagondronk)

Related Article:

Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant killed

Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant killed

Yahoo – AFP, Olivia Rondonuwu, Dessy Sagita, July 19, 2016

Police carry a body bag at a local hospital in Palu, Indonesia's Sulawesi province,
on July 19, 2016, after a firefight between suspected Muslim extremists and
security forces in the village of Tambarana (AFP Photo/Olagondronk)

Indonesia's most wanted Muslim extremist has been killed in a firefight with troops, authorities said Tuesday, ending a years-long hunt for the Islamic State (IS) group supporter.

Santoso, the leader of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen, was shot dead on Monday on mountainous Sulawesi island, where he had been hiding out in the jungle with a small band of followers.

His death is a major victory for authorities in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country who had pursued the extremist for five years, sending thousands of security forces to hunt for him.

His group carried out a string of deadly attacks on domestic security forces and was known for training militants from around the archipelago. In 2014 he pledged allegiance to IS and earlier this year was placed by the United States on a list of global terrorists.

"The group is obviously weakened now that we have got the leader," national police chief Tito Karnavian told reporters, as he confirmed the militant's death.

He said the country's extremists had wanted to transform Sulawesi's Poso district, where Santoso and his followers were based, into a "safe haven" and a regional power base.

"With this group broken, their hope for a base there is gone," he added.

After Indonesia suffered a string of Islamic extremist attacks in the early 2000s, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed more than 200, authorities launched a crackdown that weakened the most dangerous networks.

But Santoso's group remained a thorn in the side of the government, with the long-haired, gun-toting militant regularly appearing in videos urging extremists to launch attacks on the security forces.

After Indonesia suffered a string of Islamic extremist attacks in the early 2000s, 

authorities launched a crackdown that was credited with weakening the most

dangerous networks (AFP Photo)

Significant blow

The picture has changed recently, with other cells now considered a greater threat -- Santoso was not believed to have played role in an IS-claimed attack in Jakarta in January that left four attackers and four civilians dead.

But his death will still be seen as a significant blow to Islamic militancy in Indonesia.

The extremist, known by several aliases including Abu Wardah, was killed alongside one other militant in Tambarana village in Poso.

Police said the pair were killed beside a river and a rifle was recovered. Two women, one of whom was suspected to be Santoso’s wife, and another man, escaped from the gunfight.

Following a sustained campaign by security forces, authorities believe just 19 members of Santoso's group now remain on Sulawesi waging a guerrilla campaign against the government.

Santoso also attracted militants from abroad, with several members of China's mostly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority travelling to Indonesia to join his group.

Several were killed fighting with the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen, and in July last year four Uighurs were jailed after being caught on Sulawesi attempting to join the group.

Santoso became involved in Islamic extremism during bloody fighting between Muslims and Christians around Poso from the late 1990s to the early 2000s which left hundreds dead.

He went on to form the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen and quickly jumped to the top of the most wanted list after his men began killing police officers.

World tourism map redrawn since attacks, epidemics, migrants

Yahoo – AFP, Katia Dolmadjian, 10 February 2016

People react at the site of a shooting attack on the beach in front of the Riu Imperial 

Marhaba Hotel in Port el Kantaoui, on the outskirts of Sousse south of the capital 

Tunis, on June 27, 2015 (AFP Photo/Kenzo Tribouillard)

Paris (AFP) - The world's tourism map is being redrawn at lightning speed as holidaymakers switch preferences prompted by terror attacks, epidemics and migrant crises.

Jihadist attacks on tourists in Tunisia last year and the October 31 crash of a Russian plane which took off from its Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh have devastated the tourism sectors in both countries.

An Egyptian man waits with his camel for

 customers near the pyramids in the southern 

Cairo district of Giza on January 19, 2016

(AFP Photo/Khaled Desouki)

But Muslim countries everywhere are the main losers of the shift in tastes, sector professionals say, as tourists move to destinations they consider safe -- so long as they're also sunny.

Overall, world tourism has never been in better shape. Nearly 1.2 billion people travelled abroad in 2015, an increase of 4.4 percent over the previous year, but the casual observer could be fooled by the sight of deserted North African beaches, once tourist hotspots.

Tunisia, which built its tourism industry on guaranteed sunshine and rock-bottom prices, is the most stunning example of the devastating impact of security fears after murderous attacks targeted foreigners.

Visitor numbers to Tunisia tumbled by two million in 2015, leaving coast resorts empty, hotels idle and the economy in tatters.

Tunisia's tourism sector accounted for almost 10 percent of the nation's economy.

'Muslim countries are suffering'

Turkey is another victim of attack fears. Germany's TUI, the world's biggest tourism group, said Tuesday that it had seen bookings to Turkey drop by 40 percent in the wake of an Islamic State suicide attack in Istanbul.

Turkish media, meanwhile, reported that visitor numbers to the top Turkish resort of Antalya dropped by 17 percent last month, the lowest level for the month of January in a decade.

Some destinations are collateral damage from attack fears, as tourists appear to make little distinction between countries within the Middle East or North Africa, as Jordan has found to its cost.

"There was no attack, but we were affected tremendously by a drop of visitors coming from Europe," Jordan's tourism minister Nayef al-Fayez said recently.

Turkey is another victim of attack fears, with tourism numbers dropping in 

some cases by 40 percent (AFP Photo/Ozan Kose)

"All Muslim countries are suffering to a greater or lesser degree, even those which have been made totally secure, like Oman," said Jean-Francois Rial, chairman of French travel operator Voyageurs du Monde.

"The only exception is Iran, but they've started from scratch," he told AFP, noting that many European agencies have begun offering travel to Iran since Western powers have started dismantling sanctions.

"There is no doubt that the whole Middle East region is today associated with insecurity in the mind of the Western tourist," said Wouter Geerts, analyst at the Euromonitor research company.

"We expect countries such as Greece, Portugal and Spain to largely benefit from the situation, offering similar weather, competitive prices, and security," he said.

The sudden surge in demand is leading to higher prices in these destinations.

"Hotel owners tell clients 'Instead of charging 50 euros per double room, I'm going to charge 55, take it or leave it. If you don't want it, others will'," said Olivier Petit, at the In Extenso firm.

Cuban bottlenecks

Cuba, which already got a boost from the thawing of relations with the United States in late 2014, is now also battling with bottlenecks, with daily arrivals of huge cruise ships in the Havana bay.

Cuba is now also battling with bottlenecks of tourists, with daily arrivals of huge

cruise ships in Havana bay (AFP Photo/Ana Rodriguez)

"I have a group of 250 people arriving this week and I've just heard that I can no longer count on 80 rooms that were booked and paid for in March, all because of over-booking," said Stephane Ferrux, director of French specialist travel agency "Cuba autrement" ("Cuba with a difference").

Tourism numbers in Cuba rose by 17 percent in 2015, "but the country is not ready, they don't have the quality to justify prices that have gone up by half in a year. Everybody wants a piece of the cake," he said.

Haiti's unspoilt beaches are also becoming a magnet for tourists, six years after the country was devastated by an earthquake.

Battalions of tourists have been going to Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Argentina, but Latin American destinations could soon be affected by the spreading Zika crisis, experts say, pointing to the impact on sub-Saharan Africa of Ebola, of Chikungunya in the Carribbean and MERS Coronavirus, or Camel flu, in South Korea.

The migrant crisis has also taken a heavy toll on Greek islands, once a very safe bet for operators, but where masses of refugees have landed, scaring tourists.

"The Greek islands, especially tourism in Kos, have been severely damaged, as holidaymakers feel uneasy about the situation," according to Euromonitor, pointing to data saying that there were 178,000 cancellations of Kos bookings between January and August 2015.