Malik alive, back in Sulu – MNLF leader

MANILA, Philippines - A year after he was reported dead, Ustadz Habier Malik has allegedy returned to Sulu and reunited with fugitive Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari, a source said yesterday.

The source, a member of the MNLF central committee, told The STAR in a telephone interview that he personally met Malik somewhere in Sulu during a gathering of MNLF commanders two months ago.

“Malik has recovered from injuries he suffered during the Zamboanga seige,” the source said, adding the MNLF leader showed him blackened muscle tissue from injuries he sustained when a mortar shell blasted a concrete wall at the height of the Zamboanga fighting.

The source said Malik and some 30 MNLF guerrillas slipped out of a military cordon in Zamboanga City and went island-hopping to evade pursuing police and soldiers.

Malik reportedly left his bag, which contained his identification card, and other personal document with a follower who was killed in an explosion. The military recovered his ID card.

The source said Malik stayed for several months on one of the islands, where he underwent physical therapy for his muscle and bone injuries.

Malik is busy training new MNLF recruits from Basilan and Sulu, the source said.

“The recruits are taught how to operate firearms, which include anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons and Barrett sniper rifles, recently acquired by the MNLF,” the source said.

He declined to reveal how the MNLF acquired the US-made weapons.

In January, the military reported that Malik, who led the MNLF forces in Zamboanga siege last year, died in the fighting.