Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Southeast Asia

2 Suspected IS Militants Killed, 2 Caught in Southern Philippines Clash

2022-02-04

[BenarNews] Security forces have killed two Islamic State

...that branch of ISIS in the Philippines founded by two brothers of the Maute family who helped lead the siege of Marawi City in 2017 under Abu Sayyaf/ISIS-Philippines head Isnilon Hapilon. All three were killed there, but their followers carried on under the Maute name...

while on patrol Wednesday in Lumbac, a village in the town of Balabagan in Lanao del Sur province, the military’s Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) said.

"Based on the reports from the ground, Marine troops were conducting focused military operations when they chanced upon the group of Polo Alim, a Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group member," said Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario Jr., the commander of WestMinCom.

"A firefight ensued after which [the] enemy withdrew, leaving behind the dead body of one of their slain comrades," he said, adding that Alim escaped but two others were caught.

The military identified the slain fighter as Saipoden Bangka Ayok and the two captured suspects as Datu Saida Abikan and Alimusa Ayon Bagol.

Alim is believed to be a commander of the DI-Maute Group, which in 2017 made up the majority of the Filipino Lions of Islam who took over the southern city of Marawi during a five-month siege.

Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Joint Task Force Central and 6th Division, confirmed that another DI-MG member was killed during the clash.

"The fleeing enemies brought along with them the remains of the other slain comrade," Uy said in a statement.

Four marines were maimed and brought to a hospital for treatment, he said. They are believed to be in a stable condition, he added.

Police operatives and marines who conducted a clearing operation said they recovered assorted weapons left behind by the turbans, including high-powered rifles and a grenade launcher. They also seized "war materials" from a shallow bunker where the button men were believed to have holed up, the military said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo drew a bead on his old enemy and squeezed the trigger...
military intelligence officials earlier told BenarNews that a few IS Lions of Islam who had beat feet from troops in Marawi in 2017 were in the process of rebuilding their ranks.

However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
recent military victories in the field have disrupted their command structure, with the overall leader of Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan’s group under assault farther south on Jolo Island, officials added.

Sawadjaan himself may have been killed in a clash in 2020, but the military could not confirm his death because no body was found. Philippine officials accuse him of orchestrating a suicide kaboom of a Catholic church in Jolo in 2019 that left 23 dead, including an Indonesian couple who were the bombers.

The following year, his nephew, Mundi Sawadjaan, criminal masterminded another bombing on Jolo that left 14 dead.

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippine Police Arrest Suspected Militant Bomb Expert Linked to Jolo Church Attack

2021-11-25

[BenarNews] A suspected Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
bomb expert linked to the deadly blast at a church in the southern Philippines in January 2019 was arrested in a village near Zamboanga city on Tuesday, police said.

The suspect, identified as Kalmi Ammad Mustala, 42, was nabbed mid-morning at a beachfront area near Recodo village, city police director Col. Rexmel Reyes said. Police officers from the city’s mobile force, backed by police and intelligence forces on Jolo Island, carried out the raid, he said.

"Kalmi Mustala, who was avoiding arrest ... is now behind bars as the Philippine National Police Zamboanga City Police Office steps up its series of Oplan Manhunt Charlie operations across the city," Reyes said.

"The operation was conducted against Mustala through a warrant of arrest issued by the Sulu court dated June 19, 2021, for cases of illegal possession of explosives," Reyes said. "The explosives were used in the commission of the crimes of double frustrated murder and double attempted murder."

Reyes said Mustala was an active member of the Abu Sayyaf Group based in the southern Sulu Islands, believed to be a "bomb expert involved in the twin bombing incident at Jolo Cathedral last Jan. 27, 2019."

Police did not release specific details about the incidents that led to the arrest warrant. "Frustrated murder" is described as an attack where the victim would have been killed if not for timely medical intervention.

The attack in January 2019 was carried out by an Indonesian couple who strapped bombs to their bodies before blowing themselves up inside the Jolo church, killing themselves and 21 others.

Police said the bombings were criminal masterminded by Abu Sayyaf leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who succeeded Isnilon Hapilon as the Philippine commander of the bully boy group known as Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
. Hapilon was among hundreds of ~~bandidos~~ forces of Evil killed in 2017 when he and others led a five-month bad boy siege of the southern city of Marawi.

Authorities have said they believe Sawadjaan was killed in a July 2020 clash with the military in Jolo even though his body was not recovered. His nephew, Mundi Sawadjaan, retaliated by launching a twin kaboom in August 2020 that killed 14 in Jolo.

Reyes alleged that Mustala also was involved in kidnappings targeting foreigners, including Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra and Dutchman Ewold Horn who were kidnapped in Tawi-Tawi sometime in February 2012 while bird watching.

Vinciguerra escaped after he fought his captors during a military operation in 2014, but Horn’s captors shot him dead when he tried to escape during another military operation in May 2019.

In addition, Mustala was linked to kidnappings involving Indonesian fishing boat crews, police said.

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippines Catches Abu Sayyaf Suspect Involved in Abductions, Beheadings of 2 Canadians

2021-10-19

[BenarNews] Authorities in the southern Philippines have arrested a suspected Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
Death Eater, who acted as a ransom negotiator and was involved in the abductions of two Canadians who were executed by the Islamic bully boy group in 2016, police said Monday.

The national police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) backed by police commandos, marines, and intelligence agents, arrested Adzrimar Sali Ammat on Friday after raiding his safehouse in Zamboanga City, officials said. The house was located within two kilometers of a military base.

Ammat, 30, who is also known as Abu Omar or Guru Adin, was involved in the 2015 kidnappings of Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, as well as Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipina Marites Flor, police said. The latter two were freed after a year in captivity.

"Ammat alias Abu Omar was tagged as the negotiator of the Abu Sayyaf group that seized the four captives, including three foreigners and a Filipina in 2015," AKG chief Brig. Gen. Rudolph Dimas said in a statement.

He did not say why it took police three days to publicize the suspect’s arrest.

On Monday, officials at the Canadian Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a BenarNews request for comment.

The Abu Sayyaf, or "Bearers of the Sword," a Death Eater group based in the southern Philippines, is blamed for the country’s worst terrorist attacks, including bombings of military camps. Founded by an Afghan-trained Death Eater in the 1990s, the group later branched out to raising funds through kidnapping when its leader was killed.

Police said that two other kidnap victims, who were not named by them, positively identified Ammat as a negotiator. It was not clear whether they were held together with the two Canadians.

The regional police office in Zamboanga said Ammat had two standing warrants of arrests, one issued by a Davao Court for two counts of kidnapping with homicide on Sept. 29, 2016, and kidnapping with ransom issued by another court on Sept. 2, 2019.

The two Canadians, the Norwegian and the Filipina were kidnapped in September 2015 from the Holiday Oceanview Resort on the island of Samal in Davao del Norte, and were later taken to the jungles of Jolo Island — the stronghold of Abu Sayyaf in the far south — police said.

Ridsdel was beheaded in April 2016 and Hall was beheaded two months later. In June 2016, Flor, Hall’s girlfriend, was also freed and recounted the cruelty of Abu Sayyaf Death Eaters.

"We were treated like dogs. If we made mistakes, we were beaten," Flor told news hounds then, shortly after the turbans freed her. President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered negotiators to get her and the remaining hostage alive.

Flor was freed three months earlier than Sekkingstad, the Norwegian. The national police then said that a ransom of 30 million pesos (about $600,000) was paid for his release, although they never revealed who was the source of that money.

In hostage situations, the Philippines government officially has a policy of not negotiating for ransom.

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippine Military Rescue Teen Daughter of Indonesian Suicide Bombers

2021-06-25

[BenarNews] The Philippine military said Thursday that its forces rescued the 13-year-old daughter of an Indonesian couple responsible for a suicide kaboom at a church in the south in 2019, and killed a suspected Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
hard boy during a counter-militancy raid.

Combined forces from the 45th Infantry Battalion and police launched the operation Wednesday night to arrest Abu Sayyaf member Rudymar Habib Jihiiran (alias Gulam) in Patikul, a town on southern Jolo Island, said Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, head of local military forces.

"The security forces were supposed to serve a warrant of arrest against Gulam when he and his comrade fired at our forces," Gonzales said in a statement.

A brief firefight ensued, allowing Gulam and two other holy warriors to escape, Gonzales said, adding that an alleged Abu Sayyaf member identified only as Sawi was killed.

Troops recovered bomb-making paraphernalia after the raid, according to commanding officer Lt. Col. Vicente Mabborang.

In addition, troops rescued Sitti Aisyah Rullie, 13, who apparently was married to a hard boy, Gonzales said.

"She is an Indonesian who is being indoctrinated in conducting bombings and also the wife of Jihiiran," Gonzales said.

Mabborang, meanwhile, identified her as a daughter of holy warriors Rullie Rian Zeke and Ulfah Handayani Saleh, who were identified as the bombers of the Jolo cathedral. The Indonesian couple, who had been indoctrinated by Abu Sayyaf bomber Mundi Sawadjaan, killed 21 people and themselves in in a twin suicide kaboom in January 2019.

Sawadjaan is the nephew of Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, the Philippine commander of the Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
. The military has said that the elder Sawadjaan might have been killed in a July 2020 clash in Jolo, but his body has not been recovered.

Sitti Aisyah Rullie’s older sister, Rezky Fantasya Rullie, allegedly had planned a suicide kaboom but was arrested during an October 2020 raid in Jolo, the military said.

Officials, meanwhile, said the military had coordinated with relevant agencies about the maiden of tender years.

"Still, we in the security sector have no choice but to coordinate with concerned agencies and act on this. She is married to a full-fledged Abu Sayyaf Group member, her older brother is an armed member under the Daulah Islamiyah group, and per intel reports, she is being groomed as a jacket wallah. There is a risk here," Gonzales said.

"We sincerely hope that she could be de-radicalized and have another chance at a decent life. Involving children in this kind of terroristic act is outright shameful and a clear violation of our existing laws," he said.

The Indonesian Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment.

The military in Sulu has said two suspects remain of the seven known foreign holy warriors that had been operating in the island province, Gonzales said. They were identified as the girl’s brother, Ahmad Ibrahim Rullie, and an Egyptian known only as Abdurahman. Both apparently are minors.

Link

Southeast Asia

Suicide Bombers in Philippines Attack Monday Were Widows of Abu Sayyaf Militants: Army

2020-08-30

[BenarNews] The jacket wallahs who launched twin attacks this week in the southern Philippines were both widows of pro-Islamic State

Link

Southeast Asia

Bombs Kill at Least a Dozen People, Wound Scores in Philippines

2020-08-25

[BenarNews] Two powerful kabooms believed to be set off by Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
-linked holy warriors, including one detonated by ajacket wallah'> ~~exploding trollop~~ female suicide bomber, killed at least 14 people and maimed scores more — many of them civilians — on Jolo Island in the southern Philippines on Monday, authorities said.

The bombings in Jolo, a hotbed of the pro-IS Abu Sayyaf

Link

Southeast Asia

Teenage son fighting alongside Malaysian militant ‘commander’ in Marawi

2017-10-21

[FREEMALAYSIATODAY] KOTA KINABALU: A teenage boy is fighting alongside his Malaysian krazed killer father, who is believed to be the leader of the remaining forces of Evil in Marawi city, southern Philippines, FMT has learned.

A former hostage, kidnapped in May, told FMT he used to play with the boy and recognised his father.

"I saw him together with his son," said the former hostage.

"I don’t know his age, maybe he’s around 13. He’s small but he’s carrying a gun already. He was involved in fighting the troops.

"I used to play with his son sometimes and they were always together and the authorities here confirmed that the boy was the son of the Malaysian krazed killer."

The exchanges with the Malaysian krazed killer and his son took place before the former hostage was rescued in September.

The teenage boy could very well be the individual Malaysian police earlier told FMT they had nicknamed "Pendek", the Malay word for "short".

Troops were earlier reported to have taken fire from women and kiddies, believed to be family members of local krazed killers.

The teenage boy however would be the first family member of a foreign fighter reported in Marawi.

The Philippine military is currently investigating whether Malaysian krazed killer Mohd Amin Baco is still alive in Marawi which has endured attacks by Islamist radical fighters since May.

A source earlier today told FMT Amin was one of about three Malaysian combatants believed to be still in the southern Philippine city following the reported death of top Malaysian krazed killer Mahmud Ahmad earlier this week.

ABS CBN News today reported Philippine military front man Maj Gen Restituto Padilla Jr describing Amin, who hails from Sabah, as a "prominent terrorist leader" and "commander".

It is understood that remnants of "straggling" Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(IS)-linked krazed killers, including Malaysians and Indonesians, are still holed up in the main battle zone in the city with operations underway to flush them out.

Amin was reported to have been a member of the outlawed Darul Islam Sabah group in the state’s coastal district of Tawau.

He and fellow Sabahan Jeknal Adil, who was reportedly killed, have been identified in reports as being bomb makers for the krazed killers.

Amin and Jeknal left Malaysia to join the Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
terror group, which pledged allegiance to the IS in 2010.

They were reported to have used the Abu Sayyaf’s hideouts in Basilan
...Basilan is a rugged, jungle-covered island in the southern Philippines. It is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, bandidos, and maybe even orcs. Most people with any sense travel with armed escorts...
and Jolo Islands in southern Philippines as bases for IS operations in Southeast Asia.

The source said it would not be surprising if the Philippine military believed Amin was a leader of the remaining fighters in Marawi as he had become accustomed to the region and very likely spoke the local language fluently.

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippines military: 4 Abu Sayyaf militants die in clash with Moro rebels

2016-08-10

[UPI] Four Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
Lions of Islam died in a battle with members of the Moro National Liberation Front early Tuesday in the Philippines' southern province of Sulu, military officials said.

The encounter occurred on Jolo Island during ongoing talks between Abu Sayyaf and the one-time rebel group for the release of seven hostages, a military front man said.

Maj. Felimon Tan, front man of the Armed Forces of the Western Mindanao Command, said in a statement that Abu Sayyaf sub-commander Alhabsy Misaya fought with MNLF fighters in Kalingalang Caluang where some hostages are being kept.

Tan said the MNLF operation and its efforts against the Abu Sayyaf were not sanctioned by the military. However,
it's easy to be generous with someone else's money...
he said, the military backs help maintaining peace in the province.

The MNLF said it killed Jennor Lahab, also known as Cmdr. Jim Dragon, and his son. Other Abu Sayyaf members have yet to be identified.

The four men's bodies were brought to the village of Punjungan for their families to claim.

Link

Southeast Asia

Abu Sayyaf kills second Canadian hostage

2016-06-13

The Abu Sayyaf followed through today on its threat and killed Canadian captive Robert Hall as the deadline for paying $8-million ransom passed. Rebel spokesman Abu Raami said, "There is no extension. We have talked this over and over among our leadership and all decided no extension."

The terrorists had demanded P600 million for the release of Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipina Marites Flor. Hall had been held since Sept. 21, 2015 and is the second Canadian slain after John Ridsdel, who was killed in late April. There is no word on the fate of the remaining hostage Sekkingstad.

His execution comes after Prime Minister Trudeau repeated at the G7 summit in Japan that Canada will not pay ransoms to win the freedom of hostages.

The captives were seized by masked gunmen last September near Davao City and transported more than 500 kilometers west to Abu Sayyaf stronghold Jolo Island, where a bounty of more than $30 million was initially demanded for each of what were then four hostages.

A military offensive against Abu Sayyaf that began before Ridsdel's death on the same island in Mindanao where the Islamist group is believed to be holding the hostages has apparently stalled after initially retaking some lost territory.

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte had a conversation with Trudeau in which Duterte said he apologized for Hall's abduction. Duterte is "the only person with the added leverage in Mindanao, through his connections with different rebel groups, to help the hostages. He has given Canada assurances that he will do his utmost to help the Canadian hostage," said political scientist Richard Heydarian of Manila's De La Salle University.

Link

Southeast Asia

Reports of Malaysian terrorist's death greatly exaggerated

2014-06-22

A Malaysian ~~terrorist~~ militant thought to have been killed in an air strike two years ago is alive and actively training new recruits. Zulkifli Abdhir, who once headed Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia and was a member of Jemaah Islamiyah's central command, is back on local most wanted lists. Intelligence agencies believe he is now an operative of the Abu Sayyaf ~~terrorist~~ militant group. Zulkifli is also high on the FBI's most wanted list.

Intelligence sources said the bomb expert who is also known by his alias, Marwan, is believed to be a top asset to the group, and had trained a significant number of bombers, including suicide bombers. They include the new cadre of Malaysian ~~terrorists~~ militants who are looking for combat experience before joining ~~terrorist~~ militant groups active in Syria and Iraq. The sources revealed that these ~~terrorists~~ militants were required to pay a significant amount in fees for training that would provide them with battle skills.

The Philippine military, following a February 2012 raid on Jolo Island, had said it was confident that Marwan, along with more than a dozen others, including the group's top figures, had been killed. However, security analysts had cast doubt over the raid's success, saying the conclusion was made based on field reports and that their identities were not confirmed.

This revelation came as the authorities are arresting up more and more militants bound for Syria, including several who had just returned from the Abu Sayyaf's two-month training program in the southern Philippines.

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippine terrorists abduct two teachers and a midwife

2012-03-21

Two teachers and a midwife have been kidnapped by suspected Muslim ~~terrorists~~ militants in the southern Philippines.

The two teachers, both male, were abducted on Monday on their way to work in Iligan City, 810 kilometers south of Manila. They are believed to have been taken by armed men led by a Muslim rebel commander in the area.

On Jolo Island, gunmen seized a 54-year-old midwife on Monday, according to Colonel Remegio Valdez, a marine brigade commander. Valdez said the terrorists initially abducted six healthcare workers from an ambulance, but let the five others go.

~~Terrorists~~ Militants are currently believed to be holding captive an Australian national kidnapped in December and two European birdwatchers abducted in February.

Link

Southeast Asia

Christmas Mass bombing injures 11 in the Phillipines

2010-12-25

A improvised explosive device on a church rooftop exploded at a Catholic church on Jolo Island in the Phillipines during Christmas services, injuring 11 people.

"The explosion occurred at around 7:15 in the morning while the mass was going on. Six people were slightly wounded in the explosion," said a military spokesman in the initial report.

The chapel was 15 meters away from the local polices main headquarters. Its a well guarded compound. Its manned and secured by regular police forces, by the Special Action Force and a nearby detachment of the Philippine Marines, thats why I dont know how the chapel could have been bombed and how the bomb was sneaked in. They have to be investigated, Latag told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview.

The compound houses the water district office, a military hospital, a lodge known as the Peacekeepers' Inn, and the chapel.

The bomb also caused damage to the chapels altar.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said he has directed the Philippine National Police to arrest the suspects behind the explosion immediately. "We are condemning in the strongest terms the chapel bombing especially as we are celebrating Christmas," he added.

Though no one claimed responsibility for the attack, Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said Christians in Jolo had been threatened by Muslims. "There are communities that are being threatened for being Christian. They are receiving threats coming from so-called fundamentalist Muslims," he told AFP.

"They're being intimidated by words. Many times they are being disturbed in their gatherings for worship," he added.

Link

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