… Marwan photo fabricated, says Abu Misri Mama
In this Feb. 2, 2012 file photo, then Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Col. Marcelo Burgos shows a picture of Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, during a press conference in Quezon City. AP PHOTO/Pat Roque
In September 2014, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters claimed that it had established an alliance with the ISIS and that it has been directly communicating with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
These claims also renewed unconfirmed reports that Malaysian bomber Zulkifli Bin Hir, more commonly known as Marwan, was training future bombers inside BIFF territory in Maguindanao.
But BIFF spokesperson Abu Misri Mama, at that time, said that there were no foreigners inside their barangays (villages) and territories.
“There are no foreigners here with us. There is no Marwan here. You should ask the MILF instead,” Mama said in 2014.
He added that the alliance with ISIS did not mean that they had sent members to join the training and fighting in the Middle East.
“There is no truth to the reports that we have sent fighters to Syria and Iraq. We do not need to train there because our training grounds in Mindanao are enough already,” Mama said.
When the firefight erupted between the Special Action Force commandos of the Philippine National Police and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the BIFF in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on Jan. 25, Mama again asserted that Marwan was not being protected by the BIFF. He again told the Philippine Daily Inquirer to ask the MILF about it because the group allegedly knew the suspected bomber.
“We only joined the fighting because the SAF entered the territory of the BIFF’s 1st Brigade. But, again, Marwan is not here,” Mama said on the evening of January 25.
Mama also told the Inquirer that he personally had not seen Marwan or even Abdul Basit Usman, a local suspected bomb maker being sought by the SAF, in Maguindanao.
But on Sunday, a week after the hostilities, Mama not only continued to deny the existence of Marwan in their camp or community, but he also cleared the MILF of the accusations.
“Marwan is not here in the territory of the BIFF or in the territory of the MILF. Marwan is only a creation of the government and the US to justify their intrusion into Moro areas,” Mama said.
Earlier, authorities claimed that Marwan was killed in the operation and a picture was leaked showing a man resembling Marwan with gunshot wounds in his arm and chest.
The MILF denied the claims and asserted that an impartial investigation would shed light on the allegations.
Mama also claimed that the photograph of a dead and bloodied Marwan, apparently shot dead by the SAF, was only fabricated to “justify the defeat” of the SAF in Mamasapano.
“Gawa-gawa lang yan nila (They made that up),” Mama said.
Meanwhile, Jesus Dureza, former spokesperson of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo urged the MILF, on Sunday, to surrender remaining terrorists hiding in their territory and the three commanders tagged in the killing of 44 SAF members in Mamasapano, Maguindanao a week ago.
Dureza, who also served as adviser on the peace process in the Arroyo administration, told the Inquirer by phone that it would be the only way for the group of MILF chief Ebrahim Murad to show their sincerity in the ongoing peace negotiation and to regain the public trust.
“Ignorance about the presence of terrorists in their territory is not an excuse,” Dureza said.
The SAF members were in Mamasapano for a “law enforcement operation” against Marwan and local terrorist Basit Usman.
Zulkifli, who has a $5-million bounty by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for his arrest over his involvement in the 2002 Bali bombing in Indonesia that left 110 foreign nationals dead, was reportedly killed. Usman, a “bomb-making” expert and has a $1-million bounty on his head, managed to escape.
While police commandos were pulling out from the site, they clashed with members of MILF’s 105th Base Command and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
The BIFF is a breakaway group of the MILF.
“If the MILF is really willing to help, they can just step aside and allow the military to get these people,” Dureza said.
“They must arrest Usman and turn him over to the government. They must cleanse their ranks and show to the people they have full control over their forces,” he added.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/669625/biff-now-denies-having-marwan-in-camp
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