Is the Malay Archipelago unit of IS still intact?

The recent release of an execution video may be an attempt to show that the Katibah Nusantara is still a capable force.

PETALING JAYA: Following the latest Islamic State (IS) video featuring a possible all-Asean line-up of executioners, the question to ask is: “Is the Katibah Nusantara or Malay Archipelago unit of the terror group still intact?”

If it is, is it still an organised force capable of taking action from the place where it has regrouped, believed to be in the Syrian governorate of Deir ez-Zor?

The video, which appeared last Friday, featured Muhammad Aqif Heusen Rahizat of Malaysia, Megat Shahdan Abdul Samad of Singapore and a yet-to-be-identified militant who is believed to be also from the Asean region.

It was released by al-Khayr Wilayah, an IS province suspected to be located in the Euphrates valley near the Syria-Iraq border, according to researchers.

The video showed the three men executing three prisoners, and Muhammad Aqif and Megat Shahdan calling on supporters to carry out terrorist acts in their homeland if they could not travel to Iraq and Syria.

It is believed to be the second execution video produced by the Katibah Nusantara. The first emerged in 2016 and it showed beheadings by a Filipino, an Indonesian and Malaysian Mohd Rafi Udin, who was an Internal Security Act detainee.

“Going by precedent, I believe the third executioner in the latest video is a Filipino,” said a Malaysian terrorism analyst, who declined to be named.

“When IS features executions by the Katibah Nusantara, it seems to have a tradition of featuring tri-country executioners,” he told FMT. “I think they try to show that the Katibah Nusantara is still around and relevant.

But we’re not sure whether they are still capable of action after their caliphate collapsed and many fighters were caught. However, it’s interesting that the fighters from our region have stayed put instead of relocating to another country or going home.”

Pawel Wójcik, a Polish analyst focusing on Southeast Asian terrorism issues, recently told FMT he believed fighters from Asean tended to band together after the fall of their caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

He said they most probably had regrouped in Deir ez-Zor, where they had captured several towns, including Abu Kamal, where a recent news report said Muhammad Aqif could currently be holed up.

Wójcik also said the fighters from Asean tended to stay put rather than relocate after losing their strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

However, it is anyone’s guess how many Southeast Asian militants remain in Syria and Iraq after reports that IS fighters, possibly including Asean citizens according to Wójcik, had run to Turkey or were captured by Iraqi and Syrian forces.

“It’s possible the three executioners were trying to tell Asean citizens that their so-called struggle is still relevant and that supporters should rise to the occasion wherever they are without travelling to the Middle East,” said the Malaysian analyst.

“The three were basically calling for homegrown terror attacks. Malaysia has a good track record at preventing organised attacks by cells, but the lone-wolf attacks are harder to prevent.” -FMT