A Malaysian leader of the Jemaah Islamiya, Zulkifli bin Hir, is still alive and not dead as reported by Philippine officials following deadly clashes with rebels in the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.
Emmanuel Fontanilla, a spokesman for the former rebel group Moro National Liberation Front which signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996, said Zulkifli, who is also called Marwan, was not even in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town when police commandos raided a purported JI hideout in Tukanalipao village on January 25.
The commandos were also running after Filipino terrorist Basit Usman in the village, who was reportedly with Zulkifli. There was no report about Usman, but both men are on the wanted list of the Philippines and the United States. Washington has offered $1 million reward for Usman and $5 million for Zulkifli, an engineer trained in the United States, is believed to be the head of the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia terrorist organization and a member of Jemaah Islamiya’s central command. Since August 2003, he has been present in the Philippines, where he is believed to have conducted bomb-making training for the Abu Sayyaf.
The police raid left 44 commandos dead after they intruded inside the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s 105th Base Command sparking fierce clashes. The MILF, which signed a peace agreement with the Aquino government last year, said police forces assaulted the base forcing former rebels to fight back in self-defense. MILF members also stripped the slain commandos of their uniform and weapons, but it was unknown whether their leaders would return it to the police.
“Masakit po yung nangyari (at) mga kapatid din natin yung namatay. Ang pagkakaalam namin yung kanilang subject ay wala po doon. Wala po doon. Nasa Lanao po. Mali yung intelligence nila. Mabuti pa nagtanong sila sa amin,” Fontanilla said in a radio interview.
Defense chief Voltaire Gazmin and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, citing intelligence information, said Zulkifli was killed in the daylong battle and that there is a photograph of his cadaver to prove the terrorist was slain.
Marwan buried in middle of battle
Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman also claimed in that Zulkifli was killed and that his body was recovered by civilians and immediately buried in accordance with the Islamic tradition. He said the body cannot be exhumed because it is against Islam.
“'Kagabi nagva-validate din tayo, ang sabi eh inilibing na. Community na ang naglibing. Kasi usually, by tradition, kung mayroong Muslim na namatay, mayroong obligasyong ilibing within 24 hours. Not necessarily and BIFF or MILF ang naglibing sa kanya, “Hataman told radio network dzMM.
No Marwan or Usman in Mamasapano
Hataman’s fantastic claim cannot be independently confirmed, but Mamasapano town Mayor Tahirodin Benzar Ampatuan said there were no reports that Usman or Zulkifli were hiding in his town. “We have no reports that Usman or Zulkifli are hiding in our town. What the police raided was the 105th Base Command of the MILF,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
Ampatuan said police also did not inform or coordinate with him when they launched the operation in Tukanalipao village. “We are not even aware of the police operation and police did not coordinate with us,” he said.
He said his group had recovered a total of 35 bodies of commandos and turned them over to the police.
The 6th Infantry Division also said the police failed to inform or coordinate with them when they mounted the operations that led to fierce clashes with former rebels. Another rebel group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, also attacked police commandos and killing more than a dozen of them.
Mohagher Iqbal, MILF vice chairman, said the operation of the Special Action Force commandos was uncoordinated. “We were not even informed about this (operation) and it was not coordinated with us. They attacked the 105th Base Command and our members defended themselves from the attack,” he said in a separate interview.
MILF investigation
Murad Ebrahim, the secluded chieftain of the MILF, has ordered an investigation into the clashes. “Our concern is the truth. There will be a lot of speculations as to what happened and until what happened is established with credibility and integrity, the said incident will weigh down our current efforts to bring peace to our homeland,” he said in a statement.
“In order to give meaning to their deaths, we must resolve not to let something like this happen again. To this end, the MILF is convening a Special Investigative Commission to be composed of members of the MILF Central Committee and BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces) General Staff who are tasked to investigate the events at Mamasapano, Maguindanao that resulted in the death of members of the MILF and of soldiers of the Philippine Government,” he added.
Despite the violence and mounting calls by politicians to review the peace accord with the MILF, Ebrahim reiterated their commitment to the peace process. “We hereby reiterate the MILF’s full commitment to the peace process with the Philippine Government. An enduring peace and justice remain to be our primary objective. In this regard, all actions and pronouncements of our political and military units of the MILF should advance and adhere to this primary objective as much as possible and with due regard to the safety and security of our people and communities,” he said.
Ebrahim also condoled with the families of the slain police commandos. “First and foremost, we express and send our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those who died in the armed encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. The emotions of loss and pain are not alien to us Bangsamoro and Mujahideen. Nevertheless, respect and solidarity is due to all, irrespective of which side they belong,” he said.
http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2015/01/malaysian-ji-bomber-marwan-is-alive-in.html
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