AFTER increased terror activity in Indonesia and Malaysia, the military said on Wednesday it would step up its search for four Indonesian jihadists who are believed to be seeking refuge with local extremists.
Military sources, who asked not to be identified, identified the four as Arsyad Sagoni, 43; Suwito Tujimon, 23, Anuar Yancong, 27; and Amir Nanggi, 43, all Buginese Indonesians who fled Sulawesi after Jakarta cracked down on Islamic militants with apparent links to international terror group IS.
The source said the military had already known of the presence of the four Indonesians in Mindanao even before Indonesian militant Sucipto Ibrahim Ali, alias Abdul Fatah, was killed in a clash with soldiers in Sultan Kudarat last November.
The military said at that time that Sucipto is known to be a member of the Mujahidin Indonesia Timur and slipped into the country with other foreigners and are now hiding with members of Ansar al-Khilafah Philippines, a new group of jihadists in Mindanao.
But the military insisted that the presence of these foreign jihadists in Mindanao did not mean that the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria had already established a presence in the country.
“Our intelligence community has not reported the presence of ISIS in the region, although the military and police are not taking chances,” said Capt. Patrick Martinez, spokesperson of the army’s 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro.
He said that the military and police have stepped up intelligence gathering in the region to check on terror groups, particularly ISIS members.
Martinez, however, said that the military is also appealing to the civilian populace to be on guard against suspicious groups or activities in their areas.
The military would immediately respond to any form of threat that might evolve with the presence of suspected terror groups in any part of Northern Mindanao, he said.
The military’s 4ID covers the 10 provinces and about 12 cities, including the port capital city of Cagayan De Oro in Northern Mindanao.
On Tuesday, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hernando Irriberi himself confirmed that the military is looking for nine foreign terrorists, among them five Malaysian jihadists, who are believed to be hiding with extremists in Mindanao.
The Malaysians were identified as University Malaya lecturer Mahmud bin Ahmad, former Selayang Municipal Council employee Muhammad Joraimee Bin Awang Raimee, Mohammad Amin Baco and Jeknal bin Adil.
Malaysian authorities had asked government officials to tracked the whereabouts of their wanted compatriots who sought sanctuary in Mindanao shortly after IS had recruited them to join the Islamic militant group.
Meanwhile, a leading academician at the Western Mindanao State University said the government should not discount the possibility that ISIS or an ISIS-stirred group might set-up a “base” in Mindanao.
Professor Eddie Ladja, dean of WMSU’s College of Asian and Islamic Studies, said Mindanao is vulnerable to possible infiltration of foreign terrorist because of the loose security in the region and the porosity of the country’s borders with Malaysia and Indonesia.
Ladja suggested that the government properly addressed the pressing issue of terrorism in order to deter the potential said these issues should be addressed properly by the government to prevent the possible growth along with setting-up of bases of foreign terrorist in the country.
http://thestandard.com.ph/news/-main-stories/top-stories/197321/search-for-jihadists-stepped-up.html
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