Free Republic

The two men were shot during a raid on Saturday by a joint team of military and police officers in Central Sulawesi’s mountainous Parigi Moutong district, Makruf said. It borders Poso district, which is considered an extremist hotbed in the province. “Ali Kalora was the most wanted terrorist and leader of MIT,” Makruf said, referring to the East Indonesia Mujahideen militant group, which claims allegiance to IS. He said that security forces were searching for the four remaining members of the group.

A strong tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake has hit a coastal Indonesian city, officials say. Waves of up to 2m (6.6ft) high swept through Palu on Sulawesi island, not long after authorities had lifted a tsunami warning. Video on social media shows people screaming and fleeing in panic and a mosque amongst the buildings damaged. Officials have reported five deaths - but it is not clear if those were as a result of the tsunami.

Malaysia says increased cooperation among Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia is sufficient to protect the vital Malacca Straits against pirates and terrorists. The Malacca Straits is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Lying between Malaysia and Indonesia and Singapore, the straits carry a third of the world's trade, and half its oil supplies. Until recently, piracy was a serious problem on the narrow waterway. The International Maritime Bureau says a third of the global pirate attacks on shipping occur in Indonesian waters. But speaking Sunday at a regional security conference in Singapore, Malaysia's defense minister and deputy prime...