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KL police sceptical of report that IS leader Wanndy is dead

KUALA LUMPUR — The top Malaysian Islamic State (IS) operative in Syria, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, has reportedly been killed in a drone strike. News of the 27-year-old terrorist’s death was shared by his wife, Nor Mahmudah Ahmad, 28, on her Facebook page.

Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi with his wife and their child in Syria. Photo: Malay Mail Online

Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi with his wife and their child in Syria. Photo: Malay Mail Online

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KUALA LUMPUR — The top Malaysian Islamic State (IS) operative in Syria, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, has reportedly been killed in a drone strike. News of the 27-year-old terrorist’s death was shared by his wife, Nor Mahmudah Ahmad, 28, on her Facebook page. 

National Police Chief Khalid Abu Bakar told TODAY in a text message on Monday (May 1) the authorities were still verifying the authenticity of the claim. “We are suspicious of this report. We are checking,” Mr Khalid said.

Asked if it was a ploy by Wanndy to deceive the authorities, the police chief said: “We will comment later.” 

Nor Mahmudah, who has been in Syria with Wanndy since 2014, posted that she accepted her husband’s fate. 

“My dear fighter, finally it’s your time to go. 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,” she said in her post on Saturday. 

Wanndy was said to be at risk of losing his position as IS Malaysia leader if he failed to carry out a major terror attack in the country by the end of the year, The Star reported last week. 

Citing an intelligence source, the report said that Wanndy had failed to carry out attacks in Malaysia as planned, and this had infuriated IS’ Syrian and Iraqi leaders. 

Wanndy had also promised the IS leaders that he would be able to wreak havoc in the country in several months’ time. 

Wanndy was the mastermind behind the grenade attack on a nightclub in Selangor last year, which was the first IS attack on Malaysian soil. The Movida nightclub bombing did not kill anyone, but injured eight people. 

Sources involved in monitoring Malaysians fighting alongside IS in Syria told the New Straits Times on Monday that intelligence teams are gathering information on whether the news was a ploy by Wanndy, who might want to deceive people into thinking that he had died. 

The source said: “Some of the words used in the posting were not commonly used by his wife previously. They do not match her style of writing.” 

Wanndy, who had been attempting to widen IS’ influence in Malaysia, had as recently as last Wednesday posted online about a close shave with death. 

He related how the car he was in was showered with bullets after he accidentally crossed into a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) area. He escaped without injury and shared a few photos of the car they were in, which was riddled with bullet holes. 

Wanndy 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 Eastern country. He is said to have sought the help of IS leaders for hackers to infiltrate Malaysia’s social media networks.

He was also put on the United States’ Specially Designated Global Terrorist list in March, making him a high-profile target for law enforcement agencies worldwide. 

Malaysia has been on high alert since suicide bombers and gunmen linked to IS launched multiple attacks in Jakarta in January last year. It has also been identified by the militant group as being a high-priority target. 

The authorities have stepped up efforts over the past few months to prevent IS lone-wolf terrorists from coming together to stage bigger attacks in the country, Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed previously told TODAY. 

Since 2013, more than 260 militants have been put behind bars by the Malaysian authorities. AGENCIES, WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KOI KYE LEE

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