THE top Malaysian Islamic State (IS) operative in Syria, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, has reportedly been killed after he was shot in a drone attack.
It is understood that his comrade, whose nationality is unknown, was also killed in the attack in Ma’dan, Syria, on Saturday.
News of the 27-year-old terrorist’s death was shared by his wife, Nor Mahmudah Ahmad, 28, on her Facebook page.
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 put on the United States’ Specially Designated Global Terrorist list in March, making him a high-profile target for law enforcement agencies worldwide.
He was wanted in Malaysia for recruiting local fighters and coordinating attacks in this country.
Sources involved in monitoring Malaysians fighting alongside IS in Syria told the New Straits Times that although Wanndy’s wife had posted about his death, intelligence on the news was still being verified.
Intelligence teams are gathering information on whether the news was a ploy by Wanndy, who wanted to deceive people into thinking that he had died.
“Although his wife has confirmed the news, there is still suspicion about the posting.
“This is because some of the words used in the posting are not commonly used by his wife previously.
“They do not match her style of writing,” the source said.
Wanndy, had as recently as last Wednesday, posted 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.
Although he escaped without any injuries, another operative — whose name is not known but is reportedly the son of Malaysian IS jihadist Ahmad Salman Abdul Rahim — suffered bullet wounds on the leg.
Wanndy also shared a few photos of the car they were in which was riddled with bullet holes.
Wanndy first gained notoriety when he and another Malaysian, Mohd Faris Anuar, appeared in a 30-second video showing the beheading of a Syrian man by IS in 2015.
He 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 East country.
One of the postings which Wanndy appeared in showed him holding the head of a PKK soldier who was decapitated in Syria.
Wanndy, who used the nom de guerre Abu Hamzah Al-Fateh, had also coordinated several attacks and provided material support to IS fighters in Malaysia, including in the attack on the Movida nightclub in Puchong in June last year.
Wanndy, who grew up in Jalan Bukit Tambun, Durian Tunggal, Malacca, left for Syria on Jan 26, 2014, along with his wife.
Their two daughters were born in the war-torn country. The couple reportedly travelled by train from Butterworth, Penang to Bangkok before flying to Moscow and on to Istanbul before making their way to Syria.
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