New terror group emerging in PH – retired PNP intel chief

MANILA, Philippines – Bombmaker Abdulbasit Usman is just the tip of the iceberg of an extremist group, which is now struggling to establish a national character, a retired police intelligence chief said.

Usman and Zulkifli Bin Hir aka Marwan were the target of the anti-terror raid in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January 25 by the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) that ended in disaster.

The deadly top-secret mission that may have Marwan claimed the lives of 44 counterterrorist troopers.

Meanwhile, Usman escaped at the height of the firefight in Barangay (village) Tukanalipao.

President Benigno Aquino III, in an address to the nation last month, said the government operation against Usman will continue.

Rodolfo “Boogie” Mendoza during the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) forum Wednesday said Usman is the special operatives chief who can always coordinate with all terror threat groups like the Abu Sayyaf Group, Jemaah Islamiyah, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter (BIFF) and the 105th of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Mendoza is one of the police intelligence officers who led to the discovery of the Bojinka plot in the 90s which include a plan to assassinate Pope John Paul II. He interrogated Abdul Hakim Murad, one of the brains behind the plot that led to the arrest of his cohort Ramzi Yousef in Pakistan.

Usman, he said, is part of the group Khilafa Islamiya Mindanao (KIM) that is attempting to establish a national character.

Usman has counterparts in Davao (Enor Said), Western Mindanao (Ustadz Isa), Northern Mindanao (Ustadz Pekre) and Johan or Amio Baco in the National Capital Region.

“It is now in the process of spreading its national character. But it is not yet completed. We do not know if they are already a chapter of ISIS or ISIS followers,” Mendoza said.

On top of KIM’s organizational chart, aside from Marwan, Mendoza said, is Amir M. Amir Abtol Rahman and Amir Kuptu.

The group, he said, was borne out of the tactical alliance among the BIFF, the MILF 105th, the Jemaah Islamiya and the faction of Isnilon Hapilon.

“Tactical alliance means they conduct joint training, joint operation and joint fund raising. Some of these people are integrated with Basit Usman,” he said adding that the BIFF and the group of Hapilon last year have pledged allegiance with ISIS.

The groups he said also conducted joint training last year that has a cost of about P2-million in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.