Abdul Basit Usman
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Ahmad Akmad Usman y Batabol (19743 May 2015), more commonly known as Abdul Basit Usman, was a Filipino terrorist and a bomb-making expert who led the Special Operations Group of the
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), also known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement, is an Islamist militant organization based in Mindanao, the Philippines. It is a smaller player in the overall Moro insurgency in the Phili ...
and had links to the
Abu Sayyaf Abu Sayyaf (; ar, جماعة أبو سياف; ', ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is base ...
and Jemaah Islamiyah militant groups. Usman was on the United States'
Rewards for Justice Program The Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is the counterterrorism and counterintelligence platform administered by the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service agency. The Rewards For Justice program is seeking information leading to th ...
list, which offered $1 million for his capture.


Early life

Usman was born in 1974 in Labo-Labo, a village in
Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao Shariff Aguak, officially the Municipality of Shariff Aguak ( Maguindanaoan: ''Kuta Shariff Aguak''), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Maguindanao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 33,982 peop ...
, in the southern
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. He worked as an
overseas Filipino An overseas Filipino ( fil, Pilipino sa ibayong-dagat) is a person of full or partial Filipino origin—i.e., people who trace back their ancestry to the Philippines but living or residing outside the country. This term generally applies to ...
in
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
before engaging in militant activities.


Militant activity

Usman was implicated in the FitMart Mall bombing in
General Santos General Santos, officially the City of General Santos,; hil, Dakbanwa sang Heneral Santos; Maguindanao: ''Ingud nu Heneral Santos''; Blaan: ''Banwe Dadiangas''; Tboli: ''Benwu Dadiangas''; Filipino: ''Lungsod ng Heneral Santos'' and abbre ...
on 21 April 2002, which killed at least 15 people and injured 55 others. Several weeks later, he was arrested and accused of assembling the bomb. He was interrogated and imprisoned at the Sarangani Provincial Police Station, but was made a minimum-security detainee for good behavior. His cell was not locked, and he escaped in October 2002. Upon his escape, Usman joined Tahir Alonto, a former commander of the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ar, ''Jabhat Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyyah'') is a group based in Mindanao seeking an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro r ...
whom the military had accused of leading the Pentagon gang, a kidnap-for-ransom group. Usman later offered to turn himself in. Senior Inspector Aucelito Cabang, who was Usman's custodial officer, entered Alonto's territory with three other officers to arrest Usman, but was killed in what turned out to be a trap. Usman would later be linked to a bombing at the public market of
Tacurong Tacurong, officially the City of Tacurong ( hil, Dakbanwa sang Tacurong; fil, Lungsod ng Tacurong; Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Takurung'', Jawi: كوتا نو تاكوروڠ), is a 4th class component city in the province of Sultan Kudarat, Phi ...
on 10 October 2006, which injured four people, and to the
Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato ( Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi: كوتا نو كوتاواتو; Iranun: ''Bandar a Kotawato'', بندر ا كوتاواتو; fil, Lungsod ng Cotabato), is a third class independent c ...
bombings on 5 and 7 January 2007, which killed two people and injured three others. On 14 January 2010, Usman was incorrectly reported to have been killed along with several others in an American drone strike in Pakistan that targeted the Pakistani Taliban leader,
Hakimullah Mehsud Hakimullah Mehsud (Pashto/ ur, حکیم اللہ محسود; − 1 November 2013), born Jamshed Mehsud () and also known as Zulfiqar Mehsud (), was a Pakistani militant who was the second emir of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. He was deputy to comm ...
. Later, he was also reported to have been killed in a series of military shellings in
Maguindanao Maguindanao (, Maguindanaon: ''Prubinsya nu Magindanaw''; Iranun'': Perobinsia a Magindanao''; tl, Lalawigan ng Maguindanao) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 ...
. Usman later resurfaced, and in June 2014, government officials warned that he was planning a bombing in
Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of land ...
. On 25 January 2015, he was one of two targets in the
Mamasapano clash The Mamasapano clash was a shootout that took place during a police operation by the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on January 25, 2015, in Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, then-undivided Maguindanao (which is now ...
in
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
. His companion
Zulkifli Abdhir Zulkifli Abdhir (5 January 1966 or 5 October 1966 – 25 January 2015) was a Malaysian who was one of the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists. The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agency offered a reward for information leading to his ca ...
, the other target, was killed in the raid, but Usman escaped and fled into the
Liguasan Marsh Liguasan Marsh is a marsh in the Mindanao River basin in the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines. The marsh covers an area of around spanning the provinces of Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat. of this area is reserved for a game ...
. The military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front launched offensives to find and capture him, with President Aquino vowing, "We will get Usman."


Death

Usman was killed in an encounter with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on 3 May 2015 in Guindulungan, Maguindanao. It was suspected that one of his bodyguards killed him in order to collect the $1 million bounty on his head. According to a statement from the
Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The ...
, "There was in-fighting among his bodyguards. When he was killed, he had 7 bodyguards — but these bodyguards were not the most loyal to him." However, the Armed Forces of the Philippines later backtracked on that claim and confirmed that Usman was killed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usman, Abdul Basit 1974 births 2015 deaths Deaths by firearm in the Philippines Abu Sayyaf members Filipino Muslims Filipino Islamists Jemaah Islamiyah Terrorism in the Philippines People from Maguindanao Filipino migrant workers 21st-century criminals