Philippine security officials on Thursday hailed the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's confirmation that a senior Malaysian militant with a $5-million reward on his head was killed in a January raid in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that also left 44 police commandos dead.
In a statement,
the FBI said that after a thorough review of forensic data and information
obtained from Philippine law enforcement partners, the bureau "has
assessed that terrorism subject, Zulkifli Abdhir, also known as 'Marwan,' is
deceased and has been removed from the FBI's list of Most Wanted
Terrorists."
"We have got
our man and (the operation) was a success," Philippine National Police
spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo said in response to the FBI
confirmation.
"We are glad
we can finally erase all doubts about this death. We are now assured that the
notorious terrorist has been neutralized," said Philippine military
spokesman Brigadier General Joselito Kakilala.
The FBI
confirmation provides some validation for the botched raid that plunged
President Benigno Aquino's administration into crisis and jeopardized efforts
to end a decades-long Muslim separatist insurgency.
Zulkifli was a
top militant in the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) which is
suspected of carrying out the 2002 Bali
nightclub bombings which killed 202 people.
The raid claimed
the lives of 44 members of the Philippine police Special Action Force (SAF) who
were attacked by Muslim gunmen after they raided Zulkifli's hideout on January
25.
The SAF commandos
were sent to the troubled southern island
of Mindanao
The high death
toll caused Aquino's approval rating to tumble to its lowest level since he
took office in 2010 and prompted questions about the nature of US-Philippines
cooperation on military and anti-terror operations.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/04/02/15/pnp-afp-praise-confirmation-marwans-death
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