KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Former lecturer Dr Mahmud Ahmad is in line to take over an Islamic State (IS) terrorist cell in the southern Philippines and attempt to create a regional terror network, a report claimed.
Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division head Deputy Comm Datuk Ayob Khan reportedly said Mahmud was known to be with the Philippines’ IS-affiliated Abu Sayyaf group.
According to local daily The Star, Ayob also confirmed suspicion that Mahmud ultimately plans to lead this IS cell.
Citing unnamed sources, The Star said IS "caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is currently trying to find a replacement for Malaysian Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, who had led the militant group’s South-east Asian faction before he was killed by a drone attack in Syria.
Mahmud was said to have been the only trusted leader in the region to Baghdadi, aside from current Abu Sayyaf chief Isnilon Hapilon who currently head the IS offshoot, but was injured two months ago in an aerial attack in Basilan, southern Philippines.
Isnilon was last year announced as the "emir’ of the IS group in the Philippines.
Mahmud is said to be planning to bring together terror cells in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia for an official regional faction for the IS, and is believed to be seeking to fill in the leadership gap if Isnilon dies.
Mahmud, who had previously trained with terror group al-Qaeda and fled to the Philippines from Malaysia in 2014 and is known as Abu Hanadzlah, is believed to be in Marawi City in southern Philippines.
The Star also reported sources as saying two Malaysian men identified as Ustaz Abdurahman Asmawi from Kelantan and Dr Kamsa Yahya from Kedah were killed in clashes between militants and the Philippine government who is hunting down Isnilon.
In a separate report by New Straits Times (NST), Ayob said the names of the two dead men suspected to be Malaysians were released by the Philippine military, but noted further verification was required.
"But, we need to check first before confirming whether they were indeed Malaysians,” he was quoted saying to NST, adding that police need to check if identification papers were found on their bodies or obtain their fingerprints for checks or make DNA profiles of them.
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