Poso district police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Rony Suseno said, when contacted by reporters in Poso, said the gunfight lasted for about three hours, from 7.30am to 10.30 am.
"One member of the armed group was killed and his body is still being evacuated," he added.
He said the shootout occurred following an ambush, after police received information about a camp used since 2016 by suspected terrorists.
Personnel from the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) then launched a raid, as suspected terrorists threw bombs at the Brimob members, reported officials.
"They were the ones who first threw bombs at us and we fought back, resulting in a shootout," he said.
Ronny said 60 personnel from the police and military had been deployed in the operation, spread out at six locations, while the number of armed members of the terrorist group led by Santoso, who is leader of the Laskar Mujahidin Indonesia Timur (Eastern Indonesia Mujahidin Troops), was estimated at 15.
"After the gunfight, the armed members fled and the hunt is still continuing around the hills where the fight took place," he said.
He further remarked that the police were able to confiscate a self-made bomb as evidence, while efforts to find other evidence were continuing.
The camp used by the armed group was a house belonging to a local community member located some 20 kilometers from the village of Taunca, which is a four-hour drive from Poso.
Several villagers in Taunca said they heard shots fired in the forests on Friday morning.
"Yes, we heard shots being fired and we dared not come out to work in the fields," a worker said.
Seven people were killed in terror attacks in Jakarta on Thursday, including five of the attackers, a Canadian national and an Indonesian civilian.
Additionally, twenty people, including five police officers, were injured in the terror attack.
President Jokowi condemned the bomb blasts targeting Thamrin Boulevard in Central Jakarta and has ordered the police to arrest the perpetrators.
"I have ordered the National Police chief and the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs to chase down and arrest the suspects, both those on the scene and other members of the network," he said on Thursday.
The head of state also expressed his condolences for the victims of the blasts.
He reiterated that terror attacks would never be allowed to incite a sense of fear or defeat among Indonesians and has appealed to the public to remain calm. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
