KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — One of Abu Sayyaf’s most feared leaders, Mudzrimar Sawadjaan, who had also been long on Malaysia’s wanted list as a suspect in several abductions off the coast of Sabah, is dead.

The man nicknamed "Mundi” was shot dead by Philippine security forces last Saturday while attempting to flee the southern Philippines, The Manila Times reported today, citing Brigadier General Alvin Luzon of the Philippines Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade.

The Manila Times also reported that Mudzrimar to be behind the August 24, 2020 twin suicide bombings that killed 14 people on Jolo island in the southern Philippines as well as the Jolo Cathedral bombing on January 27, 2019 that killed 23.

Local daily The Star reported separately today that Mudzrimar has been on the wanted list of the Eastern Sabah Security Command on suspicion of keeping hostages who were taken from waters off the north Borneo state between 2018 and 2020 without entering the Malaysian state.