Body of JI member flown home

From the New Straits Times (Dec 21): Body of JI member flown home

THE body of Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member, Mohd Noor Fikrie Abd Kahar, who was shot dead by security forces in the Philippines last week, arrived home early yesterday morning. His body was flown in from Davao at 9pm on Thursday, accompanied by his father, Abd Kahar Sirun, 53, and several others. The last rites were carried out at his parents' hometown of Benut, near here. He was buried at the Parit Haji Abdul Rahman Muslim cemetery at 7am after Subuh prayers.

The group arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 1am and reached Benut at 5.30am in a Federal Territories Religious Department (Jawi) van. Police cars escorted the van throughout the journey, while policemen and Rela personnel were seen in and around Masjid Jamek Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim, where the prayers were performed. A congregation of about 100, family members and locals joined in the sembahyang jenazah (prayer for the dead). Fikrie, 26, who was the eldest of four children, leaves behind three daughters -- Yani Izzati, 4, Aisyah Nadia, 5, and Aina Sofia, 6 -- from his previous marriage to Siti Sarah Raihana. All of them were present during the burial.

Fikrie was shot dead by Philippine security forces in Davao on Dec 14 after threatening to set off an improvised explosive device (IED) in a public area. A source had indicated that Fikrie was an expert bombmaker after being trained by Johor-born JI member and key terror suspect, Zulkifli Hir. While Zulkifli was killed in a dawn strike at a militant camp on Jolo Island on Feb 2, Fikrie managed to evade arrest. During a raid in July, Fikrie escaped again.

Security forces eventually caught up with him when they received information on his whereabouts in Davao. Fikrie and his Filipina wife, Anabelle Nieva Lee, were confronted by security forces after they checked out of the Sampaguita Hotel at 10.30pm on Dec 14. During a scuffle, Fikrie took out a mobile phone and threatened to detonate an IED inside a backpack carried by Lee. The security forces backed off, allowing the couple to run out of the hotel. At one point, the Malaysian grabbed the backpack from his wife and the couple ran in opposite directions. Fikrie was shot dead after a short chase. The IED was defused by a bomb squad, while Lee was arrested later on.

Kahar thanked the Malaysian authorities for helping to bring his son's body home. "Which father would not be saddened by such an incident? The last I saw him was March 30 before he went off to the Philippines. "It didn't cross my mind that I would never see him alive again," he said.

http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/body-of-ji-member-flown-home-1.189587