Cops to verify identities of Malaysian men killed in Philippines
SHAH ALAM: Police are waiting for official information on the claim that two Malaysians were among six foreign militants killed in troubled Marawi City, Mindanao Island, southern Philippines
Federal police Special Branch Counterterrorism Division (SBCTD) principal assistant director Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said they have yet to verify the information from the Philippine authorities.
“As far as I know, the names of the two men killed, who are suspected to be Malaysians, were released by the Philippine military.
“But, we need to check first before confirming whether they were indeed Malaysians,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
In order to confirm the identities, Ayob said, police needed to see whether any identification documents, like passport, were found on the men.
In the absence of this, police would acquire their fingerprints to compare with those in their database.
Ayob said police could also make do with DNA profiles of the killed militants.
However, he said, this method would require some information on their suspected identities so that police could trace their families and make comparisons.
On the number of Malaysians whom SB-CTD had known to have gone to the Philippines to join terror groups, he said police so far could only confirm four.
“So far, we can confirm that four Malaysians went there to join terror groups.
“They are Dr Mahmud Ahmad, Mohd Joraimeen, Jeknal Adil and Mohd Amin Bacho.
“However, police believe that there are more than that, but we were could not confirm the information.”
It was reported that Philippines authorities have identified two Malaysians among those killed in a battle with Philippines security forces in Marawi City, Mindanao.
The two were Dr Kamsa Yahya from Kedah and Abdurahman Asmawi from Kelantan, according to sources.
They were among six killed on Thursday in battles raged for three days at the city.
Reuters yesterday reported, quoting Philippine Solicitor-General Jose Calida, that Indonesians and Malaysians were among foreign militants fighting the Philippine army in Mindanao Island.