GOVT NOT BRINGING BACK BODY OF I.S. MILITANT WANNDY, SAYS DPM
His family can make arrangements with authorities in Syria, says DPM
SYDNEY
THE government has no intention of bringing back the body of Malaysian Islamic State (IS) militant Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, who was killed in Syria, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi here yesterday.
He said, however, Wanndy’s family could do so by making arrangements with the authorities in Syria.
“The government was informed by international intelligence of the death of Wanndy in a drone attack. It has no intention to make arrangements to bring back the body,” he told Bernama.
Zahid, who is also home minister, was speaking to Malaysian journalists here. He is on a three-day visit to Australia from Sunday.
Wanndy was reportedly killed in an attack in Raqqa, Syria, on April 29.
The New Straits Times reported his death on May 1.
Wanndy’s wife, Nor Mahmudah Ahmad, 28, who is still in Syria, had posted about his death on Facebook on the day he died.
It was learnt that his comrade, whose nationality is unknown, was also killed in the attack.
Nor Mahmudah, who has been in Syria with Wanndy since 2014, posted that she accepted her husband’s fate.
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 IS militants beheading a Syrian man in 2015.
Wanndy, who used the nom de guerre Abu Hamzah Al-Fateh, had coordinated attacks and provided material support to IS militants in Malaysia, including the attack on the Movida nightclub in Puchong in June last year.
Wanndy’s and Nor Mahmudah’s two daughters were born in the war-torn country.
The couple travelled by train from Butterworth, Penang, to Bangkok before flying to Moscow and on to Istanbul before making their way to Syria.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed the NST report in a Twitter message on Monday. Bernama