The government today confirmed that Mohd Nizam Ariffin, the Malaysian militant known as Abu Afghan, was killed during a clash with the authorities in Mosul, Iraq several days ago, like reported by nst.com.my .
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi however, said the government would not be bringing back his remains to Malaysia as he died a terrorist.
“Nizam was involved with terror groups and got involved in the clash at his own risk. His death is not considered as ‘syahid’. He is no martyr,” he said.
Previously, the top Malaysian Islamic State (IS) operative in Syria, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, was confirmed dead following an attack near Raqqa, Syria on April 29.
On a separate matter, Zahid said the government would wait for further details to verify the status of scholar Sheikh Dr Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who had previously received the Tokoh Maal Hijrah award, after he was recently named in terror finance watch list.
Zahid was speaking at the Young Agropreneurs roadshow here, today.
During the event, Zahid also presented a mock cheque for RM13 million in l financial aid for 830 agropreneurs in the state.
Zahid had earlier joined 1,433 people from the Rungkup and Hutan Melintang constituencies at the closing ceremony of the Tadarus Al-Quran Perdana programme held in conjuction with Nuzul Quran.
He said Muslims should understand the meaning of the verses in Quran instead of merely reading it.
“Reading the Quran should not be limited to Ramadan or once a year, but should be practised daily,” he said.
