Dead or alive? Hunt is on in Marawi for Malaysia's most wanted terrorist




KUALA LUMPUR: Philippine troops in Marawi City are hunting down a Malaysian militant who helped to finance the months-long siege of the southern Philippine city by pro-Islamic State groups.

It is unclear, however, if Mahmud Ahmad if still alive, even as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared the city liberated on Tuesday (Oct 17).
A regional security source told Channel NewsAsia that Mahmud is believed to be dead after being killed by the Philippine military during operations two days ago to clear the city’s battle area of remaining terrorists.

Philippine military officials, however, have not confirmed Mahmud’s death. Last June, the military had said Mahmud was killed, only to have him resurface weeks later.
“Dr Mahmud is believed to be dead. (Freed) hostages said he died two days ago. The military is searching for his body right now,” the source told Channel NewsAsia.
“Dr Mahmud was badly wounded in the face. His last known coordinates were in the main battle area in Marawi city, holed up together with 20 to 25 hostages as well as some family members of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups.

“Another Malaysian militant, Mohd Amin Baco and one Indonesian were also with him,” added the source.
There are no details on the fate of the Amin Baco and the Indonesian.



MAHMUD AHMAD: THE BRAIN BEHIND REGIONAL TERROR FACTIONS

The Marawi siege was launched by Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group’s IS faction, together with the Maute Group which is led by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute.
Isnilon and Omar were both killed in combat, announced the Philippine Defence Secretary on Monday. The fate of Abdullah Maute is unknown.

“Mahmud is believed to have been together with Isnilon and Omar based on monitoring of their communications,” said the regional source. He gave no details as to whether Mahmud was in the same spot when Isnilon and Omar were were killed.

According to the military, Mahmud channeled US$600,000 and recruited men for the Marawi attack that has killed more than 1,000 people and displaced 400,000 residents.



Mahmud, 39, holds a doctorate in religious studies and was a university lecturer in Kuala Lumpur. He was Hapilon's second-in-command in the IS' Southeast Asia "caliphate", according to a July report by Indonesia-based Institute of Policy Analysis and Conflict (IPAC).

In June, a senior Malaysian intelligence official told Channel NewsAsia that Mahmud was highly dangerous and that he was the brains behind the Maute and IS factions of the Abu Sayyaf groups.

Together with Isnilon Hapilon, he had planned to set up an IS territory.

Mahmud is also known to have recruited and arranged for the passage of Malaysians to Syria to join IS, including the country’s first suicide bomber, Ahmad Tarmimi Maliki.

He fled Malaysia for southern Philippines in 2014 along with two other associates, after receiving word that the police were after him.
Source: CNA/aa
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapa...-marawi-9318124

Hanwha Defense unveils medium tank based on fighting vehicle chassis.



http://defence-blog.com/army/hanwha-defens...le-chassis.html

unveils? they already developed and shows this vehicle around the world since 2013
http://www.army-guide.com/eng/product4956.html

Yes i know. This is K21-105 a new variant with CMI 105mm gun.



https://www.armyrecognition.com/adex_2017_o..._by_hanwha.html

they put a "new version" of the ct-cv 105hp turret from the "old version" of the ct-cv 105hp turret, and tadaa~ its a new variant
prolly to make a headline to market it for the US new medium tank program

"old version" ct-cv 105hp turret on the k21

This time at ADEX 2017 the K21 "new variant" is with a CMI XC-8 105HP.

Emirati Apache helicopter crashes in northern Yemen, two pilots killed





[sos]

JASDF Helicopter Seen to Have Crashed off Central Japan





[sos]

decided not to go the Osama route did they?

someone should put a 105mm turret on the Gempita

Just noticed there is no Panoramic Sight on the Gempita's Denel LCT-30 turret. Is it FFBNW? I have asked this in my previous post.



Denel LCT-30 Panoramic Sight.



This post has been edited by azriel: Oct 18 2017, 12:31 PM

hahaha... Pak Arab

Its marketing tactic...repeated unveilings to build up the hype

F-4 fighter jet catches fire just before take-off from JASDF base





[sos]

http://alert5.com/2017/10/18/indonesia-wan...efense-systems/

Duterte confirms Malaysia's most wanted terrorist Mahmud Ahmad dead




Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed on Thursday (Oct 19) that Malaysian Mahmud Ahmad, once tipped to become Islamic State's point man in Southeast Asia, was killed by the military, according to local news reports.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Duterte as saying in a speech in Manila that "there were three": "Hapilon, Omar, at iyong (and one) doc. I think he’s… (Malaysian). He was taken this afternoon. And that completes the story."

Sources confirmed to the Inquirer and Rappler that the president was referring to Mahmud, the news outlets reported.

Both reports also said that Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Restituto Padilla confirmed Mahmud's death after Duterte's announcement.

The Philippine military had said earlier on Thursday there was a "big possibility" that Mahmud was among 20 Islamic State loyalists killed in the latest fighting in the devastated heart of Marawi City.

"But we will only be definite once we have a match of probably DNA samples, maybe of the dental records," Colonel Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of a military task force, said.

Mahmud, a 39-year-old former university lecturer, is believed to have been pivotal in raising and channelling funds for the alliance and its foreign fighters during the Marawi siege which has lasted 150 days, killing more than 1,000 people, mostly rebels.

Philippine soldiers on Monday killed Hapilon, a target of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as Omarkhayam Maute, one of two brothers at the helm of the Maute militant clan.

Mahmud was seen in a video alongside Hapilon and the Maute brothers plotting the Marawi siege. Security experts say he studied in Pakistan and learned to make bombs in an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan. He left Malaysia in 2014.
Source: CNA/mz

Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapa...duterte-9325804



Is Israel Hiding That Its F-35 Warplane Was Hit By Syrian S-200 Missile?

People keep saying that education can help eliminate terrorism, bizarrely most top terrorists themselves are very highly educated.

Osama was an civil engineer, Abu Bakar Baghdadi (allegedly) had a PhD in Islamic studies, Ayman al-Zawarihi was an accomplished surgeon and this Abu Handzalah was even a university lecturer.

Damaged Royal Australian Navy Romeo helicopter could be a write-off





[sos]

Read more: https://ria.ru/defense_safety/20171017/1506999974.html

This post has been edited by azriel: Oct 21 2017, 09:45 AM

BT-3F is a replacement for BTR-50. It actually helps to simplify logistics because based on the BMP-3F chassis, which is also used for marine corps.

But, Kemenhan does seem to purchase armaments on opportunity-basis, like the Nakhoda Ragam class, Leopard 2, M109, M113 and others. When Su-35 finally arrive (don't know when), it means that TNI-AU will have 5 variants of Flankers. Because they are purchased on small increments on a long period of time.

Although economy is expanding, Jokowi quadrupled the infrastructure budget compared to previous administration to about $35 billion annually. The education budget is also at equal amount. So, the defense budget will decline slightly next year. So, we can expect this kind of procurement method to continue. The defense budget to GDP ratio is still at 0.8 percent and declining, which is the lowest in the region.

So, it is a concern...