This file photo reportedly taken by police commandos inside a hut in Barangay (village) Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, shows the body of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan. Police reported that armed men torched the hut Tuesday night, Feb. 24, 2015.
COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Armed men set on fire Tuesday the hut where Zulkifli bin Hir, the Malaysian bomb terrorist known as “Marwan,” was killed by police commandos in Barangay (village) Pidsandawan, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, police said.
Senior Inspector Reggie Abellera, Mamasapano police chief, said Wednesday they learned that the incident took place at about 10 p.m.
“We have a team that will go to the site to check,” he told a local radio station here.
Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, told the Inquirer the Army got a similar report about the incident but was still verifying it.
“The location (of the huts) was remote,” Petinglay said.
But the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) confirmed the burning, saying apart from the hut where Marwan was killed two adjacent huts were also razed.
Von Al Haq, MILF vice chair for military affairs, refused to speculate on who could be behind the incident, however.
Abellera said initial witness accounts indicated that several armed men went to Barangay Pidsandawan and set on fire the house of Marwan.
He added, the gunmen reportedly used kerosene in setting ablaze the hut , which was made of light materials.
A small mosque nearby was spared, the police official noted.
The reported burning of Marwan’s hut took place hours after members of the PNP Board of Inquiry (BOI) visited Mamasapano for an ocular inspection.
Police Director Benjamin Magalong, head of the BOI, told media on Tuesday that they did not go to Marwan’s hut partly because of reports that “BIFF” men have been sighted in that area.
But Abu Misry Mama, BIFF spokesperson, denied knowledge of the incident, adding that he had not received any report from their members there.
A source said among those burned were the slain terrorist’s personal belongings. These objects were seen in the photo of the dead Marwan, which was provided the media.
With the area very difficult to penetrate, local authorities were still trying to get more information to identify the perpetrators and their motive, the source added.
Magalong said the burning of Marwan’s hut “will not impact our investigation.”
Updated @ 10:35 a.m., February 25, 2015
Originally posted: 7:52 AM | Wednesday, February 25th, 2015