Abdul Basit Usman (with uncovered face) is seen with several armed followers in this image grabbed from a video posted online showing them pledging allegiance to the Islamic State
A Filipino bomb expert trained by the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network has reportedly formed a new group from former officers and members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a security and intelligence expert said.
Abdul Basit Usman reportedly calls his new group the Bangsamoro Justice Movement, retired police general Rodolfo “Boogie” Mendoza, who is now president of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said.
Mendoza, who once headed the Intelligence Group of the Philippine National Police, is credited with cracking “Oplan Bojinka,” an al-Qaeda operation acknowledged to be the precursor of the 9/11 attacks on the US.
According to Mendoza, among Usman’s recruits are Ustadz Ali Tambako, a close associate of BIFF founder Ustadz Ameril Umbra Kato who was kicked out of the organization over the beheading of two men in Midsayap, North Cotabato in September last year, and Abdul Jan Pagao, who the security expert said is the former political affairs officer of the BIFF.
InterAksyon.com has sought a reaction from BIFF spokesman Abu Misri Mama but he has yet to reply.
Usman, who is on the US list of global terrorists, is believed to be operating with Malaysian JI operative Zulkifli Bin Hir, more known as “Marwan,” added Mendoza.
The BIFF itself broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front over disagreements on the directions peace talks with government were taking.
The BIFF holds on to the aim of establishing an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines whereas the MILF agreed to drop secession for autonomy.
Usman’s group is among those known to have made a “baai” or pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State, which has declared the establishment of a caliphate within areas of Iraq and Syria.
The event is shown in a video posted in September to YouTube under Usman’s name.
The YouTube video showing Abdul Basit Usman and some 20 gunmen pledging allegiance to the Islamic State
[Video by Abdul Basit Usman: انصارالخلافة بالفلبين
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNDQL4cZINM]
Mendoza said Usman’s group also has links to the Al Hansar Khilafa, “which means supporters of the caliphate."
The former police intelligence official said that Usman’s new group is also linked with another group called Al Hansar Khilafa, which means supporters of the caliphate, and is also the name of a group in Pakistan and Syria affiliated with IS.
Usman, who is wanted for several bombings since 2003, was erroneously reported as having been killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan, near the border of Afghanistan.
Most recently, he was reportedly wounded in a joint military and police raid in Barangay Libutan, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/96809/ji-trained-bomber-abdul-basit-usman-forms-new-group-with-biff-breakaways---security-expert
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.