the operation was commenced by the indonesian government to eradicate the mit and prevent them from spreading terror to indonesian and foreign citizens in central sulawesi. the operation, a continuation of both operation camar maleo i & ii, began in early march 2016 and is still ongoing. in 2014, mit pledged their allegiance to isil and became a terrorist group. their main figurehead was santoso, though after his death and the arrests of other leaders, the remaining eleven members hid in the jungles surrounding poso, central sulawesi.