Leaderless militants in Syria
Cops: There’s a power vacuum among m’sian Is fighters
PETALING JAYA: A power vacuum exists among Malaysian Islamic State (IS) fighters in Syria following the deaths of their senior leaders Akel Zainal and Mohd Rafi Udin.
Akel, whose real name is Wan Mohd Aquil Wan Zainal Abidin, was killed along with his wife and two children when an airstrike hit his home in Baghouz, Syria, in March.
Mohd Rafi Udin, who is also known as Abu Awn Al-Malizi, was also killed during an airstrike in January.
The two were the most senior Malaysian militants in Syria after the deaths of Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi in April 2017 and Muhammad Fudhail Omar two months later.
Bukit Aman Counter Terrorism Division head (E8) Deputy Comm Datuk Ayob Khan said intelligence revealed that Akel had been known to recruit Malaysians as well as issue orders to terror cells in Malaysia.
One of the last known orders given by Akel was earlier this year when he told a Singaporean businessman to recruit a few others to attack a Freemason building in central Johor Baru.
The attack was thwarted by E8 and the Singaporean suspect arrested.
“He has been fighting for the IS in Syria since 2014.
“When Muhammad Wanndy was killed, Akel became the de facto leader of Malaysian IS militants there.
“He was also the main militant figure in recruiting Malaysians into IS,” said DCP Ayob.
He said Mohd Rafi was featured in a 2016 IS video which called for attacks against secular governments and its leaders.
“In the video, he was seen beheading a Middle Eastern-looking individual.
“He has been a militant since his Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia days in 2001, and even joined Jemaah Islamiyah before heading to Syria to join IS,” added DCP Ayob.
On whether any militant would claim to be the new leader of the Malaysian IS wing, DCP Ayob said information from his foreign counterparts indicated there had yet to be one.
“There is another senior militant, Zahar Abdullah, there but his influence is not strong as compared to Akel and those killed.
“We believe Malaysian militants in Syria are now leaderless,” he said.