KOTA KINABALU, 22 January 2019: Seven
foreign terrorists, including Malaysians, were spotted recently with an Abu
Sayyaf sub-leader wanted by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) in a
Sulu village, a Philippine terrorism expert told Daily Express.
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Chairman of the Philippine Institute for
Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research Professor Rommel Banlaoi said the
foreign fighters are waiting for financial support to make improvised bombs.
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“The Abu Sayyaf faction headed by
sub-leader Hatib Hajan @ Sawadjaan with seven suspected foreign terrorists,
including Malaysians, were monitored in Barangay [village] Kabbon Takkas,
Patikul, Sulu,” Rommel said.
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“The said foreign militants were reportedly
awaiting funding support from abroad for the purchase of explosive components
for the manufacture of IEDs [improvised explosive devices],” said Rommel,
citing information from an intelligence officer in the Philippine Government.
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Hatib is one of 18 Filipinos wanted by
Esscom for various transborder crimes such as piracy and kidnapping.
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Rommel did not say where the other foreign
militants were from but Indonesians made up the bulk of foreign militants
during the 2017 Marawi war. Scores of Indonesians are reportedly still in
southern Philippines.
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The Philippine army’s Western Mindanao
Command spokesperson, Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, said the army had also got the
information on the spotting of the Malaysians and Hatib.
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“We are in the process of having that
information validated by other sources,” Besana told Daily Express, which has
also contacted Bukit Aman’s counter-terrorism division for comment.
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Full news: Daily Express Newspaper Online,
22 January 2019 - https://bit.ly/2FLWEOB
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