KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 ― The man who had financed a grenade bombing of the Movida nightclub in Puchong, Selangor last year has been named as Filipino Russell Salic, 37.
Salic’s connection to the June 28, 2016 attack that injured eight people and is recognised as the first successful Islamic State (IS) linked terror attack on Malaysian soil emerged in US federal court documents unsealed in New York last Friday where he is to face terrorism charges soon, several US and Philippine dailies reported.
Known as “the doctor” in an apparent nod to his training as an orthopaedic surgeon, Salic was reported by the Financial Times (FT) to have told an undercover agent he had financed IS terror plots elsewhere, leading the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to conclude that he had financed the Movida attack.
The Manila Times reported today that Salic had previously wires cash in amounts ranging between US$180 (RM763) and US$583 to Malaysia as well as Australia, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Bosnia between February 2015 and June 2016.
It cited US court filings saying Salic had sent US$426.30 to Jasanizam Rosni in Johor on June 24, 2016, just days before the Movida blast. Jasanizam has been sentenced in April to three years jail for plotting a terror attack against a temple and nightclubs in Johor Baru last year.
“I believe that the Malaysia transfer (of funds)…is consistent with the statement of Abu Khalid indicating that he was involved in funding not only the [New York City plot], but also the activities of other [IS] supporters in other countries,” the Manila Times cited an unnamed FBI agent saying in a report that was part of the US court filings.
The various news reports indicated that the FBI was able to trace Salic’s role based on his Facebook account held under the alias “James Klein” which contained pro-IS posts like a photo “depicting what appears to be an executioner holding up a human head”.
According to the Manila Times report, Salic had also sent an FBI undercover agent the following message, boasting of his “public figure” status on Facebook: “[I]ts not strict here. Unli[k]e in Aus (Australia) or Uk (the United Kingdom) even liking FB (Facebook) status will put[] u in jail . . . Terrorists from all over the world usually come here as a breeding ground for terrorists . . . hahahaha . . . But no worry here in Philippines. They dont care bout IS [ISIS]..loll[.] Only in west.”
Two men, Imam Wahyudin Karjono, 21, and Jonius Indie @ Jahali, 24, were sentenced by the High Court here in March to 25 years for the Movida grenade attack and an additional 10 years each to supporting terror activities.
Salic was arrested in the Philippines seven months ago and is due to be charged with abduction and beheading of two Filipino sawmill workers in April 2016, the New York Daily News reported.
He may be extradited to the US where he will be charged alongside two others with plotting several bomb attacks in New York, including against the city’s subway, Times Square and various concert venues during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan last year which were foiled, and said to mimic the earlier terror strikes that year in Brussels and Paris.
The FT reported that his co-conspirators for the New York plots are Canadian Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 19, and Talha Haroon, 19, a US citizen living in Pakistan.
Abdulrahman was reported to have been charged and pleaded guilty to seven terror-related offences, including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists on October 13, 2016. He is reportedly due to be sentenced on December 12.
