[AnNahar] A Moslem border security officer in Singapore has been tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! for planning to fight in Syria, officials said Tuesday.
Muhammad Khairul bin Mohammed, 24, an unarmed traffic officer working at the crossing with Malaysia, was arrested under the Internal Security Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
The act allows for detention without trial for up to two years.
"Through prolonged exposure to online materials on the Syrian conflict, Khairul perceived the Syrian conflict to be a 'holy war' in which he was prepared to die in battle as a 'martyr'," the statement said.
"He developed the view that the conflict in Syria was a sectarian struggle between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam, and being a Sunni Moslem, he wanted to fight against the Shi’ites in Syria by joining the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA)," the statement said.
A colleague who knew of Khairul's plans has been put under a travel restriction order after failing to report him to superiors.
Last week Singapore said it had arrested a young mother who wanted to marry an Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group fighter in Syria.
Largely ethnic Chinese Singapore, which has close security ties with the United States and has a large Moslem minority, considers itself a prime target for myrmidon attack.
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[Al Jazeera] Gunmen have stormed a school in a village close to Pigcawayan town, southern Philippines, according to police.
Suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters ...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State... (BIFF) group were engaged in a shootout with security forces, Chief Inspector Realan Mamon said in a radio interview on Wednesday.
"We can confirm that they occupied a school and there were civilians trapped. We are in the process of determining how many were trapped and their identities," Mamon said.
Eliseo Garcesa, mayor of Pigcawayan town, told Philippine radio he was still seeking information about possible casualties.
Pigcawayan is in North Cotabato province in the centre of Mindanao island.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of emergency on the southern island last month after ISIS-linked fighters laid siege on Marawi City, some 190km north of Pigcawayan.
[Inquirer] Military aircraft bombed rebel positions and ground troops launched a renewed effort against Islamic State-inspired terrorists holed up in this city on Tuesday, and a military spokesperson said the aim was to wrap up the fighting as soon as possible. The offensive comes amid worries that terrorist reinforcements could arrive after Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.
Fighting in Marawi has entered a fifth week, and nearly 350 people have been killed, according to the latest military count. Fleeing residents say they have seen dozens of bodies in the debris of homes destroyed in the bombing and crossfire.
“We are doing our best to expedite the liberation of Marawi at the soonest time possible. We cannot definitely say when we could end this because we are fighting door-to-door and there are booby traps that pose danger to our troops,” said military spokesman Restituto Padilla.
He said the military meant to prevent the conflict from escalating after the end of Ramadan. Padilla said, "We are closely watching certain groups and we hope they will not join the fight."
Some Muslim residents said other groups might join the fighting after Ramadan. "As devout Muslims, we are forbidden to fight during Ramadan so afterward, there may be new groups coming in,” said Faisal Amir, who has stayed on in the city despite the conflict.
Fighting was intense early on Tuesday as security forces made a push to drive the terrorists, entrenched in Marawi’s commercial district, south toward a lake on the edge of the city. Padilla said, "The troops continue to get deeper into once enemy-held positions, as evidenced by the recovery of [bodies] of terrorists and their firearms."
Planes dropped bombs from overhead, while on the ground, automatic gunfire continued with occasional blasts from bombs and artillery. Armored vehicles fired volleys of shells while the rebels responded with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades.
Fighting later died down as heavy rain fell.
An Army corporal near the front line said, "We still have to clear more than 1,000 structures," adding infantry units were left behind at areas marked as clear to prevent terrorists from recapturing ground they had lost.
In a statement, Padilla said the government’s losses rose to 65 with the deaths of two more soldiers in the fighting. As of Monday, the rebels had lost 258, he said.
Civilian deaths remain at 26, although the number could be higher as the military had not yet reached inner parts of the city where the terrorists reportedly executed Christians.
During a visit to wounded soldiers in Cagayan de Oro, Philippine president Duterte said the nation’s hope of stamping out the Maute militants lay in expediting the peace process with Moro separatist groups. He said that once the peace process went through, he would ask the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to deal with the Maute group and its Abu Sayyaf allies.
“You take care of that since that is the area you want—central Mindanao, Lanao, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat,” Duterte said he would tell MILF chair Murad Ebrahim.
Some rebels may have already fled Marawi to escape the latest military offensive. Thirteen suspected Maute followers were arrested in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province on Friday after attracting attention in a hospital.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: ryuge ||
06/21/2017 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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Top|| File under: Maute group (IS)
#1
"As devout Muslims, we are forbidden to fight during Ramadan so afterward, there may be new groups coming in,” said Faisal Amir,
Faisal, You don't get out much, do ya?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/21/2017 8:38 Comments ||
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[FMT] Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia started joint sea operations to hinder piracy and counter the growing threat of terrorism on Monday.
The "Indomalphi" tripartite defense patrols kicked off aboard an Indonesian warship anchored at a port in Tarakan city during a ceremony attended by defense ministers from the three nations. The joint operations will cover the Celebes Sea, where the three countries share maritime borders, and the nearby Sulu Sea.
The joint patrols follow a series of abductions in the Sulu Sea where the Abu Sayyaf seized Indonesian ship crew members and other victims and held them for ransom.
Indonesian and Malaysian security officials also fear that terrorists from the fighting in Marawi may flee to nearby areas in the two countries. Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said,
"What's happening in Mindanao can also happen in Malaysia and Indonesia," adding that the threat from Islamic State is real and must be tackled together.
Indonesia on Monday also inaugurated a maritime command center in the naval base of Tarakan, a town in the province of North Kalimantan on Borneo island. Its defense minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said the joint operations patrols would continue indefinitely until the problems of terrorism and piracy around the three nations’ borders end.
Indonesian National Armed Forces commander Gen Gatot Nurmantyo said in addition to naval ships, the operations would also include the three nations’ armies, air forces, and navies, and will involve reconnaissance aircraft, a submarine, and fighter jets.
Nurmantyo hoped that Singapore and Brunei, whose top security officials were also present at Monday's event, would join the operations.
Earlier in the day, Nurmantyo, along with his Malaysian and Philippine counterparts, inaugurated an intelligence-sharing military command centre in Tarakan. Similar centers will be built in nearby Tawau, a city in the east coast of Sabah, and Bongao, an outlying region in the southern Philippines.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: ryuge ||
06/21/2017 00:00 ||
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[Inquirer] Military aircraft bombed rebel positions and ground troops launched a renewed effort against Islamic State-inspired terrorists holed up in this city on Tuesday, and a military spokesperson said the aim was to wrap up the fighting as soon as possible. The offensive comes amid worries that terrorist reinforcements could arrive after Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.
Planes dropped bombs from overhead, while on the ground, automatic gunfire continued with occasional blasts from bombs and artillery. Armored vehicles fired volleys of shells while the rebels responded with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades.
[FMT] Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia started joint sea operations to hinder piracy and counter the growing threat of terrorism on Monday.
