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Malaysian militant killed in clashes with Philippine army, says report

A Malaysian bomb expert with the Abu Sayyaf militant group is believed to have been killed in clashes with Philippine soldiers on Tuesday, The Star reported today. Quoting intelligence sources, the daily reported that Mohd Najib Husen, 37, was killed along with some 13 other Abu Sayyaf members, following several days of attacks. Najib, also known as Abu Anas, was said to be the right hand man of Dr Mahmud Ahmad, a former university lecturer in Kuala Lumpur who has joined the Isis terrorist group. Najib graduated in Electrical Engineering from Universiti Malaya, and owned a stationery shop in the university. Both of them, together with Malaysian Abu Sayyaf and Isis member Muhammad Jorai­mee Awang Raimee, 39, were said to have gone to Southern Philippines on April 22, last year. Joraimee was previously with the Selayang Municipal Council. All three have been on Bukit Aman's wanted list since then. The Star also reported that Najib was married with five children and was a member of the Arakan Daulah Islamiyah. He allegedly took a "bai'ah", or an Islamic oath of allegiance, to support Isis with other Abu Sayyaf members, and had helped Mahmud arrange meetings with other militant leaders in Shah Alam. Najib is also credited with arranging passage for four Malaysian militants to join Isis in Syria, including suicide bomber, Ahmad Tarmimi Maliki, who attacked the Iraqi Special Forces last year. "Mohd Najib was very dangerous as he communicated with many pro-Isis youth in Malaysia. He not only taught them more on Isis, he even gave online tutorials on how to make bombs," the source told the daily. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, however, said police had yet to receive information on Najib's death. "Until we receive some sort of confirmation from our counterparts in the Philippines, his 'death' remains a speculation. We will wait for them to contact us." he said. – December 17, 2015.