KUALA LUMPUR: ANOTHER young Malaysian Islamic State recruit in Syria has blown himself up, killing 14 regime soldiers and injuring scores others.
In the suicide mission carried out in the southwest town of Ain Issa on Nov 15, Hasan Zakaria, 25, drove a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device towards a group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party soldiers before setting off the device.
The Bukit Aman Counter-Terrorism division said the death of Hasan, who also goes by the nom de guerre Abu Adam, brought the number of Malaysian suicide bombers who had blown themselves up in Syria for IS to nine.
A 38-second video of the attack went viral on IS propaganda channels, including those run by the group’s Southeast Asian outposts.
The Special Branch’s Counter-Terrorism principal assistant director, Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, said news of Hasan’s suicide mission had put an end to an unsolved mystery.
He said the division had reason, a few months ago, to believe that Hasan had been killed during close quarters battle with the Syrian army in northern Raqqa.
Hasan, he added, slipped out of the country with the “help” of his family members.
“Prior to his flight, he was stopped by the authorities. However, Hasan, who was with his whole family, argued that he was heading to Jakarta to send off his brother, who was furthering his studies.
“His parents, brother and sister even supported his alibi. But the minute he got to Indonesia, he boarded a flight to Turkey.”
The former Ajnad Al-Sham member, who joined IS following the death of its leader on Sept 14, 2014, was among the first group of Malaysians who arrived in Syria to fight the Bashar Al-Assad regime.
In other recent cases, three more of Hasan’s Malaysian comrades died during clashes with the Syrian army. They include Haifi Abdul Halim, from Perak, who left for Syria on June 6 last year with his wife, Nur Athirah Abdul Rahim.
Before making his way to Syria, Haifi, who had a degree in finance, worked as a remisier at a private company in Selangor.
“Haifi resigned just a day before he left for Syria. His wife gave birth in the country,” Ayob said.
The two others were identified as Amirul Hakim Azhar, 26, and Abd Azeem Abd Satar, 33.
The duo, who left for Syria with a group of 10 people between Nov 8 and Nov 16, 2014, were from the same IS cell as those previously arrested for testing their bomb at Gunung Nuang.
“Azeem left for Syria with his brother, Muhammad Azizuddin Abd Satar, without the blessings of their family.
“They tried to convince him to return, but he was adamant about being martyred,” Ayob said, adding that Azeem died during an airstrike by Syrian forces.
There are currently 60 Malaysians, including 12 women and 17 children, in Syria. Besides the nine suicide bombers, 18 other Malaysians have died for IS in Syria.