DNA match sought from Marwan’s brother in Guantanamo

MANILA, Philippines - A right index finger taken from what is believed to be the corpse of international terrorist and explosives expert Zulkifli Abdul bin Hir, alias Marwan, would be matched with the DNA of his brother Rahmat Abhir, who is detained at the US facility in Guantanamo Bay.

Police commandos who killed a man believed to be Marwan in his hideout in a remote village in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Sunday cut off the right index finger so it could be used for DNA testing to confirm his death.

The raiders also took photos of the bloodied corpse of the terrorist, before collecting other DNA samples.

Local authorities have turned over the DNA samples to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for testing.

“To establish DNA, those taken from Marwan will be compared with the DNA of his family members, including a brother who is detained in Guantanamo for terror-related activities,” a ranking military intelligence official told The STAR yesterday.

Sources said there is a need to confirm if the remains were really Marwan’s for security and reward purposes.

Another official said the militant’s killing would help boost the country’s security preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit on Nov. 17 to 18 this year.

“We cannot risk any security lapse when world leaders arrive in the country for the APEC. We cannot slow down on our security operations, especially after the successful visit of Pope Francis, and the upcoming APEC meetings,” a ranking police official said.  “As we’ve said before, we cannot take chances.”

Sources have confirmed The STAR report on Thursday that the first batch of the elite police team which stormed Marwan’s hideout was able to get DNA samples from his remains.

As the first batch of SAF personnel pulled out, the arriving second team came under heavy fire. Only one SAF member in the team survived the assault. He was able to kill four rebels in the area before slipping out.

A background check on Marwan showed that his brother Rahmat Abdhir was arrested in California in 2007 for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and for giving false statements to authorities.

The two brothers, based on intelligence information, had discussed exchange rates as well as prices of weapons, including M60 assault rifles. Investigation also showed that Rahmat had wired over $10,000 to his brother.

Published reports said US federal agents discovered in Rahmat’s possession 1,000 rounds of ammunition, scopes for sniper rifles, two-way radios, military training manuals and materials used to make bombs. Rahmat was refused bail twice.

Taufik bin Abdul Halim, the youngest brother of Rahmat and Zulkifli, was also arrested for terrorism in 2001, specifically for involvement in the Atrium Mall bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia.