By SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA – Malaysia has sought the assistance of the Philippine government in tracking down five of Jakarta’s most wanted terrorists.
The five could be hiding with the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo, Sulu and are “guarded” by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, according to intelligence reports.
The five, linked to the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), were Dr. Mahmud Ahmad, Mohd Najib Husen, Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee, Mohd Amin Baco, and Jeknal Adil.
They were also associated with Daulah Islamiyah Asia Tenggara (Southeast Asia Islamiyah Network).
Mahmud, also known as Abu Handzalah, was a senior lecturer at the Universiti Malaya’s Department of Akidah and Islamic Thought.
He reportedly recruited the first Malaysian suicide bomber, Ahmad Tarmimi Maliki who blew up 25 elite Iraqi soldiers in al-Anbar on May 26.
He had been allegedly involved in militant activities since the 1990s when he was a student at the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Mohd Najib, on the other hand, was a proprietor of a photocopy and stationery shop in Universiti Malaya while Muhammad Joraimee was a former Selayang Municipal Council employee.
Mahmud, Mohd Najib and Muhammad Joraimee were reportedly involved in recruiting and sending Malaysians to join ISIL, an unrecognized state and active jihadist militant group in Iraq and Syria which claims religious authority over all Muslims and aspires to bring much of the Muslim-inhabited regions of the world under its direct political control.
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Mohd Amin and 30-year-old Jeknal were from Tawau, Sabah. Both were said to be members of Darul Islam Sabah and have joined the Abu Sayyaf.
The five suspected terrorists were believed to be in contact with Zulkifli Abdul Khir, the region’s most wanted terrorist also known as Marwan. His last known location was Mindanao./PN
