Malaysia’s police chief has confirmed that the top Malaysian Islamic State (IS) operative in Syria, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, has been killed in an attack near Raqqa, Syria last month.
“After looking through the intelligence reports we received, police have confirmed that Muhammad Wanndy has been killed in an attack in Raqqa on April 29, 2017,” Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said in a Twitter post on Monday (May 8).
Speculation of his death came up following a Facebook post by his wife, Nor Mahmudah Ahmad, 28, on April 29. “My dear fighter, finally it’s your time to go,” she wrote.
“I will remain here and take care of the responsibilities you have left behind. Although my heart has not been as strong as I expected, I accept it as fate.”
The police had initially expressed doubts about the post, saying it could be a ploy by the militant to throw police off his tracks.
The New Straits Times had reported that Wanndy was believed to have been killed in a drone attack.
Wanndy was put on the United States’ Specially Designated Global Terrorist list in March, making him a high-profile target for law enforcement agencies worldwide.
He was wanted in Malaysia for recruiting local fighters and coordinating attacks in the country.
Wanndy first gained notoriety when he and another Malaysian, Mohd Faris Anuar, appeared in a 30-second video showing the beheading of a Syrian man by IS in 2015.
He was among the few Malaysian IS fighters who were active on social media, channelling instructions to locally based militants or persuading them to join him in the war-torn Middle East country.
One of the postings which Wanndy appeared in showed him holding the head of a Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) soldier who was decapitated in Syria.
Wanndy, who used the nom de guerre Abu Hamzah Al-Fateh, had also coordinated several attacks and provided material support to IS fighters in Malaysia, including in the attack on the Movida nightclub in Puchong in June last year.
Wanndy left for Syria on Jan 26, 2014, along with his wife. Their two daughters were born in the war-torn country.
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