This is the face of terror, a 26-year-old family man of average built and height from a small coastal village in Malacca who has been accorded the dubious title of 'among the most wanted man on the global terror watchlist'.
Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar announced yesterday that those nabbed yesterday included two men who received direct instructions from Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, a known Malaysian ISIS fighter who is believed to be in Syria.
"There were elements of IS involvement in the attack," Tan Sri Khalid said, confirming the worst fears of most Malaysians.
Who is Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi? Also going by the assumed name Abu Hamzah al-Fateh, his notoriety is not unknown as his movements have come to the attention of Malaysian police since last year.
An interview with The Jihad Watch site where Wanndy spoke about beheading a Syrian man was published in September last year complete with a photograph of the terrorist posing alongside his wife and child in what could be the most unsettling family group portrait laden with terror symbols.
“He said that he and his wife, Nor Mahmudah Ahmad, left Malaysia on Jan. 26, motivated by a chapter of the Quran that predicts redemption and victory for Muslims before the end of times, under a messianic figure called al-Mahdi.” But surely he misunderstood the Book of Peace, no?" jihadwatch.org reports.
“I must say that I do harbour the hope of returning to Malaysia, but it is not my priority as my focus now is to stay here and fight, to achieve my dream of defending the IS,” the 25-year-old said in a series of messages sent from the war zone via Facebook.
"A still image was taken from the video clip published with the story allegedly showed Wanndy crouching over the dead man’s body and smiling. His Compatriot Mohd Faris Anuar allegedly operated the camera and a third man, believed to be an Indonesian, held up the Syrian’s head and cried “Allahu-Akbar,” jihadwatch.org noted a report by English news daily, The Star.
According to The Jihad Watch, Wanndy hails from Durian Tunggal, a small town in coastal Malacca.
The couple reportedly travelled by train from Butterworth, in Penang state, to Bangkok, then flew to Moscow and to Istanbul – a popular disembarkation point for jihadists travelling overland to Syria.
“These Malaysians come up with thousands of excuses to avoid dying as a martyr. When they return to Malaysia, they are screaming their lungs out for jihad, but, ironically, they fled from the battle,” Wanndy had said in one of his postings.
In a recent development, local news daily The New Straits Times reported that Wanndy was planning more attacks on Malaysian soil in an interview through his active Facebook account.
Speaking to the New Straits Times via a social media website, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi had said the attack on Movida was a warning against the government to stop its crackdown against IS.
Muhammad Wanndy (left) and Mohd Faris, two Malaysians on the terror watchlist
“If the Malaysian government continues with their arrogant actions and punish Sosma detainees as they wish, it is not impossible that we will opt to use SVBIED (suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device),” Wanndy warned.
Wanndy said the Movida incident served as a warning to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar for his challenge to IS members to launch attacks in Malaysia, NST reports.
However, counterterrorism experts interviewed by the newspaper said that it was unlikely IS members here had the resources to carry out an Suicide Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (SVBIED) attack, pointing out that any IS cell here would likely be unable to get their hands on sufficient explosives for such an attack and IS members here also lacked the expertise and technical know-how to rig a vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED).
This offers small consolation to most Malaysians who are still trying to understand the implications of this attack on their personal freedom and safety to go about their daily lives as free citizens of this country.
After the Puchong nightclub attack, Wanndy had boasted of his actions on Facebook which was initially disregarded by police.
Using the name of Abu Hamza Al-Fateh in Facebook, he posted on the social media saying that the attack was a plan by two members of ISIS – aimed as a punishment for those not respecting the month of Ramadan and for vice activities.
Malaysian police launched a massive search between 28 June and 1 July to apprehend around 15 male suspects, of whom two were found to be policemen in what is a start of a new chapter in Malaysia's fight against terror within our own borders.
Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar announced yesterday that those nabbed yesterday included two men who received direct instructions from Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, a known Malaysian ISIS fighter who is believed to be in Syria.
"There were elements of IS involvement in the attack," Tan Sri Khalid said, confirming the worst fears of most Malaysians.
Who is Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi? Also going by the assumed name Abu Hamzah al-Fateh, his notoriety is not unknown as his movements have come to the attention of Malaysian police since last year.
An interview with The Jihad Watch site where Wanndy spoke about beheading a Syrian man was published in September last year complete with a photograph of the terrorist posing alongside his wife and child in what could be the most unsettling family group portrait laden with terror symbols.
“He said that he and his wife, Nor Mahmudah Ahmad, left Malaysia on Jan. 26, motivated by a chapter of the Quran that predicts redemption and victory for Muslims before the end of times, under a messianic figure called al-Mahdi.” But surely he misunderstood the Book of Peace, no?" jihadwatch.org reports.
“I must say that I do harbour the hope of returning to Malaysia, but it is not my priority as my focus now is to stay here and fight, to achieve my dream of defending the IS,” the 25-year-old said in a series of messages sent from the war zone via Facebook.
"A still image was taken from the video clip published with the story allegedly showed Wanndy crouching over the dead man’s body and smiling. His Compatriot Mohd Faris Anuar allegedly operated the camera and a third man, believed to be an Indonesian, held up the Syrian’s head and cried “Allahu-Akbar,” jihadwatch.org noted a report by English news daily, The Star.
According to The Jihad Watch, Wanndy hails from Durian Tunggal, a small town in coastal Malacca.
The couple reportedly travelled by train from Butterworth, in Penang state, to Bangkok, then flew to Moscow and to Istanbul – a popular disembarkation point for jihadists travelling overland to Syria.
“These Malaysians come up with thousands of excuses to avoid dying as a martyr. When they return to Malaysia, they are screaming their lungs out for jihad, but, ironically, they fled from the battle,” Wanndy had said in one of his postings.
In a recent development, local news daily The New Straits Times reported that Wanndy was planning more attacks on Malaysian soil in an interview through his active Facebook account.
Speaking to the New Straits Times via a social media website, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi had said the attack on Movida was a warning against the government to stop its crackdown against IS.
Muhammad Wanndy (left) and Mohd Faris, two Malaysians on the terror watchlist
“If the Malaysian government continues with their arrogant actions and punish Sosma detainees as they wish, it is not impossible that we will opt to use SVBIED (suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device),” Wanndy warned.
Wanndy said the Movida incident served as a warning to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar for his challenge to IS members to launch attacks in Malaysia, NST reports.
However, counterterrorism experts interviewed by the newspaper said that it was unlikely IS members here had the resources to carry out an Suicide Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (SVBIED) attack, pointing out that any IS cell here would likely be unable to get their hands on sufficient explosives for such an attack and IS members here also lacked the expertise and technical know-how to rig a vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED).
This offers small consolation to most Malaysians who are still trying to understand the implications of this attack on their personal freedom and safety to go about their daily lives as free citizens of this country.
After the Puchong nightclub attack, Wanndy had boasted of his actions on Facebook which was initially disregarded by police.
Using the name of Abu Hamza Al-Fateh in Facebook, he posted on the social media saying that the attack was a plan by two members of ISIS – aimed as a punishment for those not respecting the month of Ramadan and for vice activities.
Malaysian police launched a massive search between 28 June and 1 July to apprehend around 15 male suspects, of whom two were found to be policemen in what is a start of a new chapter in Malaysia's fight against terror within our own borders.