KUALA LUMPUR
Police have identified two Malaysian militants who feature in a beheading video released last month, local media reported Wednesday.
Mohd Faris Anuar, 20, and Muhamad Wanndy, 25, are said to feature in the 30-second online footage depicting the decapitation of a Syrian man accused of spying for Syrian government forces, the Star newspaper said.
They are thought to belong to a new terrorist group made up of Malaysian and Indonesian militants called Majmu'ah al Arkhabiliy that operates under the control of Daesh, the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIL.
A senior Royal Malaysian Police counter-terrorism official, Datuk Ayub Khan, said the group was detected last year and has around 100 members. The wing was previously called Katibah Nusantara Lid Daulah Islamiyyah, he added.
Police released photographs of the two men, as well as Wanndy’s wife Nor Mahmudah Ahmad, 26, who is believed to be in Syria.
Ayub Khan said Faris was seen signaling with his raised index finger to the camera, a hand gesture used by Daesh, and Wanndy was identified as the camera operator by his voice, which can be heard on the footage.
The recording was uploaded on Feb. 22 to a fake Facebook account set up by Wanndy. It shows a militant carrying out the beheading before another, identified as Indonesian, holds the victim’s head aloft and shouts "Allahuakbar."
Wanndy and his wife travelled to Syria on Jan. 26, while Faris went last September, Ayub Khan said.
Later this month, the Malaysian parliament is expected to boost anti-terror legislation after Prime Minister Najib Razak called for stronger laws.
Malaysia has arrested 40 people suspected of militancy and identified 39 Malaysians in Syria and Iraq.
