By Prashanth Parameswaran
DNA evidence appears to confirm the death of one of the region’s most wanted terrorists.
Fresh DNA analysis suggests that Philippine authorities did indeed kill one of Southeast Asia’s top terrorists in a deadly clash with Muslim rebels late last month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement yesterday.
Both Philippine president Benigno Aquino as well as members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had claimed that Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, was killed in a January 25 controversial police raid in the southern Philippines which killed 44 commandos and has since gripped the nation (The Diplomat reported on that incident here). While the commandos were under siege and unable to carry back Marwan’s dead body, officials had said that they did manage to take pictures of him and cut off his finger. A picture of the dead militant that circulated in local media outlets did closely resemble Marwan’s image plastered in wanted posters, but authorities have been waiting for the results from additional tests to confirm this.
Read the full story at The Diplomat