KUALA LUMPUR: Security officials, reacting to a Facebook post by the wife of notorious Islamic State (IS) terrorist Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi that he is dead, doubt its accuracy.
“This is probably a ruse by Muhammad Wanndy to escape from those on his heels,” said a source.
The source said Muhammad Wanndy, 27, had probably staged his own death to “emerge as a new person” and avoid detection.
“He is really desperate and will try anything,’’ the source added.
News of Muhammad Wanndy’s alleged death on Saturday was triggered by a Facebook post by Nor Mahmudah Ahmad, 28, that day.
She said Muhammad Wanndy could have been killed in Syria in a drone strike.
Stating that she accepted her husband’s fate, she vowed to carry on with his struggle in Syria.
“My Mujahid, finally it is your time to go. I will remain here and carry on with the work you started. I accept this as fate,” Nor Mahmudah wrote in her latest posting.
(A mujahid is one engaged in a jihad, especially as a guerrilla warrior.)
Muhammad Wanndy, who is from Durian Tunggal in Malacca, left for Syria in 2014 with Nor Mahmudah.
Known as a top IS recruiter, he is on the United States’ most wanted list for his involvement in funding and providing operational support for the terror group.
In an exclusive report in The Star on Wednesday, intelligence sources were quoted as having said that Muhammad Wanndy had lost the faith of IS militants as he had failed to carry out attacks in Malaysia as planned.
The report stated that Muhammad Wanndy had “limited time” to try and convince his Syrian leaders of his ability to conduct terror attacks.
One source had said that he had until the end of the year to prove himself, or risk having his status as the IS’ Malaysian leader stripped.
Sources said yesterday that several Malaysian and Indonesian militants were unhappy with Muhammad Wanndy as he had used up sympathisers’ donations.
“Fellow IS fighters in Raqqa are looking for him. He has been on the run for about two weeks,” said a source.
Other militants also took to social media to post pictures of the car that Muhammad Wanndy allegedly was in when the drone attack happened.
“Even the wordings in his wife’s post sounds more like Muhammad Wanndy’s writing,” said a source.
The source added that Muhammad Wanndy was the mastermind behind many failed IS attacks in Malaysia “and he is not a fighter in Syria”.
“It was long suspected that he used funds donated towards the IS cause to settle his family expenses in Syria and other debts.
“He cleverly used the IS platform for his own gain. His cover has been blown open,” said the source.
It is believed that Muhammad Wanndy, also known as Abu Hamzah Al-Fateh, had accumulated RM100,000 in donations from sympathisers.
“He used some of it to fund attacks in Malaysia but most was for his own use.
“It can be said that he enjoyed life in Syria while others did the fighting for him,” another source said.
Bukit Aman Special Branch director Comm Datuk Seri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said they were trying to find out whether Muhammad Wanndy was in fact dead.
“We are checking. We want to know quickly,’’ he added.
Comm Mohamad Fuzi had said earlier that the Counter Terrorism Division was working closely with the United States to hunt down Muhammad Wanndy, who has been on Bukit Aman’s wanted list for the past two years.
Source: www.thestar.com.my
