ISIS leader in Indonesia killed in raid.

 

Police in Indonesia guarding a hospital. The Guardian/Shutterstock.

An ISIS leader in Indonesia was shot and killed by a joint raid by Indonesian police and military. The Guardian. Ali Kalora was one of the two militants killed and he was Indonesia's most wanted man. Kalora and his group, an ISIS affiliate called MIT, was responsible for several murders and attacks on Christians. The group was small with only six core members, two of which are now dead. Indonesia is now trying to track down the remaining members of the terror cell. 

My Comment:

It seems like the only time you here about ISIS or al-Qaeda these days is when their leadership gets killed in security operations. The terror groups are nowhere near their peak power and are mostly a joke now with much of their leadership and core fighters killed. 

This seems like it was a pretty small cell. There have been terror attacks that involved more than six attackers but this group only had six people in it. That isn't to say that they weren't a threat. Obviously they have committed a few murders and we know that it doesn't take too many people to conduct a terror attack, but these guys seem pretty understrength. 

My guess is that few people want to join ISIS anymore. Some people may want to gain a purpose in life and may even be willing to risk their lives to do so, but not if the cost will be quick death and failure. With ISIS in decline it is probably hard to find troops, even after the Afghanistan propaganda coup. 

There weren't a lot of details of how these guys were caught and killed. All it said was that there was a shootout and both men were shot and killed. My guess is that their communications were compromised and this allowed police and soldiers to hunt them down. 

Indonesia has had issues with Islamic terror in the past. ISIS has taken the mantle there but they haven't had as many problem as other Islamic countries with terrorism. And frankly, ISIS seems pretty pathetic there. I am not sure why, perhaps Indonesia is a less fertile ground for ISIS and other terrorist recruits?  

Regardless, their problem with Islamic terrorism seems to be less after this killing. Terror groups really do need effective leadership in order to operate and once the leadership is dead there isn't much the rank and file guys can do other than lone wolf attacks. Hopefully the Indonesian police and military can hunt down the rest of this cell and end the threat they pose once and for all.