A security red alert has been raised in Sabah as an online video was discovered depicting an Abu Sayyaf leader declaring his support for the militant Islamic State movement currently terrorising the Middle East.
The video shows 48-year old Isnilon Hapilon, one of the region’s most wanted terrorists with a RM16 million bounty on his head, along with a group of masked supporters offering prayers and declaring their support for the extreme jihadist cause of Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
The video’s opening depicts Islamic State’s now-notorious black flag, and the footage of Isnilon’s declaration seems to have been captured in the jungles of southern Philippines.
Isnilon spoke mainly in Arabic and the Yakan dialect as he and his men swore allegiance to Islamic State and the movement’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Sources told The Star Online that although the video was posted on YouTube in July, it has been ganining momentum on social networks since last month.
Pro-Islamic State and jihadist web activity in Bahasa Malaysia were being put under surveillance following the video’s increased popularity, the sources said.
The Isnilon video is believed to have been released to drum up support for Islamic State in Southeast Asia.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has vowed that Bukit Aman would tighten security to prevent the proliferation of the Islamic State and other similar movements in Malaysia.
“We are keeping close tabs on the development of such radical groups in neighbouring countries. We will step up security along our borders to prevent any of these elements from slipping in,” he said.
In recent months, several Malaysians sympathetic to the Islamic State cause have made their way to the Middle East to join the fighting there. A Malaysian suicide bomber was believed to have died in Iraq in May, the first Malaysian citizen known to have carried out such an attack.
Other Malaysians, such as “Shams”, or the Bird of Jannah, have been promoting Islamic State ideals through social media postings of their experiences in war-torn Syria and Iraq.
See Also:
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