Mindanao group leads move to form SE Asia jihad unit

Posted to the Daily Tribune (Nov 15): Mindanao group leads move to form SE Asia jihad unit

A former University of Malaysia professor is spearheading efforts out of Mindanao to unite different groups in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines supporting the Middle East-based terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Malaysian publication Free Malaysia Times (FMT) said in an article.

Dr Mahmud Ahmad, a former University of Malaya lecturer, is planning to form an official faction of the Islamic State terrorist movement in Southeast Asia, FMT said quoting Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division head Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ayob Khan.

FMT said Ahmad’s group is hiding in Mindanao and is working to unite cells in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines such as Abu Sayyaf and other terrorist groups.

Mahmud and two others, sundry shop owner Mohd Najib Husen and former Selayang Municipal Council employee Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee, 39, are high on the police wanted list for involvement with Islamic State, according to FMT.

Mahmud, also known as Abu Handzalah, has been training with Abu Sayyaf and is believed to have been involved in two bomb attacks against the Philippines army recently, according to Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, head of counter-terrorism at the Federal Special Branch.

FMT said Mahmud’s goal was to officially form a Southeast Asian faction of the Islamic State, and would need to swear allegiance before Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria.

“We discovered through intelligence sharing that going to Syria is his priority now,” the source was quoted as saying.

Leaders of Abu Sayyaf had also made video recordings of themselves swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr, the FMT source said.

Ayob Khan said Malaysian police were cooperating with other security forces, especially with the Philippines, to thwart Mahmud’s plans and to track down and capture him and his accomplices.

Ayob said Mahmud was involved in two bomb attacks against the Philippine Army recently.

“We believe the ASG regards him highly as an asset,” he said.

But Ayob indicated Dr Mahmud was not content with just being involved with the ASG.
His ultimate goal is to officially form the Southeast Asian IS.

Mahmud also trained with the al-Qaeda terror group while studying. Ayob said if Mahmud’s plans came to fruition, it would spell even more danger to the region with the different terror groups operating under one banner.

“We are cooperating with other security forces in the region, especially the Philippines, to ensure that this will not occur,” he said.

“We believe that Dr Mahmud is trying different means to gain safe passage to Syria, including using fake identification documents and passports but we will remain vigilant,” he said.

“Our priority is intelligence gathering to ensure that we are on top of any development concerning militant groups,” he said.

“We are working with our counterparts in the Philippines to track down and capture Dr Mahmud and his accomplices,” Ayob said.

Ayob, who has been dealing with terrorism matters for more than 20 years, said it was not uncommon for militant scholars or academicians to become leaders of regional extremist groups.

IS volunteers in Singapore

The Asian bandwagon in joining the Islamic State had even reached Singapore which recently detained two men who the government said were planning to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group.

Mohamed Shamin bin Mohamed Sidek, 29, and Muhammad Harith Jailani, 18, were detained in August under an internal security law, which allows for detention without trial, the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The two were radicalized online by accessing propaganda material from IS, the ministry said in a statement.

Shamin was initially jailed for three months in May for “inciting religious violence” through his pro-IS postings on social media, the ministry said.

He was rearrested under the Internal Security Act after he continued to express support for the terror group while in prison, and investigations showed he planned to travel to Syria once he had raised enough money to fund the trip.

“He had also decided that if he was unable to join ISIS, he would consider fighting alongside a regional militant group that he considered to be aligned with ISIS,” the ministry said, referring to another name used for the group.

The other suspect, Harith, “was prepared to be trained by ISIS to fight and kill the group’s enemies, and to die in the process,” the ministry said.

 

Harith gathered information on travelling to Syria and tried to recruit others to join him, it added.
The government statement indicated there was no direct connection between the two individuals.

“The detentions of Shamin and Harith underline the persistent ISIS threat and the threat posed by self-radicalised Singaporeans,” the ministry said.

“The government takes a very serious view of any form of support for terrorism.”

Thousands of fighters from around the world, including individuals from Southeast Asia, have travelled to Syria to join IS, and regional governments fear these militants could become threats to their respective countries once they returned.

Singapore is predominantly ethnic Chinese, with 13.3 percent of the population belonging to the Muslim Malay minority. 

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/mindanao-group-leads-move-to-form-se-asia-jihad-unit