Indon arrests 3 with suspected IS links

Indonesian police have arrested three men with suspected links to Islamic State as part of an operation in the province of Central Sulawesi to capture the country's most wanted man, state media reports.

It comes as Bali's police are on the highest possible terror alert after an ISIS-inspired group's plans to strike in the Christmas-New Year period were discovered earlier this month, with the help of Australian intelligence.

Counter-terrorism officials believe there are at least 1,000 sympathisers of the radical jihadist group across Indonesia. More than a dozen men suspected of planning bomb attacks over the holiday period were arrested in a series of raids recently, and the hunt is on for their ringleaders.

"This morning my team just reported that they had captured three more people," the Antara news agency quoted Central Sulawesi police chief Idham Azis as saying.

He gave no details of the arrests or the identities of the men, but said they are thought to be linked to militant leader Santoso, who has eluded capture for years and is holed up in jungles near Poso town in Central Sulawesi.

Originally published as Indon arrests 3 with suspected IS links