A couple of weeks ago, the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Getulio Pascua Napenas, testified before the Philippine Senate about terrorist activities. He discussed how Zulkifli bin Hir, a.k.a. Marwan, planned to assassinate Pope Francis during his recent trip to the Philippines.
“Just recently,” Napenas said, “during Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines, we have information that Jemaah Islamiyah [Al Qaeda’s regional arm], in coordination with Marwan, had planned to construct a bomb to be detonated as the papal convoy drove down T.M. Kalaw Street in Manila on January 18, 2015. These reports were not confirmed neither admitted nor denied by the PNP. The fact, however, remains that there exists this information.”
The military received information about the planned assassination and altered the route of the papal motorcade. Marwan was killed on January 25 in a police operation.
Napenas identified who Marwan was. “Marwan was the maker of bombs delivered for usage to several terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf. He was a well-known supplier of bombs of various terrorist groups. He was also teaching terrorists how to create bombs….Marwan was also in charge of the Southeast Asian and Indonesian terrorist group Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia or KMM. The KMM is a part of the international terrorist organization, Jemaah Islamiyah or JI, of which Marwan was believed to be part of its central command.”
“In other words,” Napenas said, “Zulkifli bin Hir a.k.a. Marwan is the most notorious bomb expert not just here in Southeast Asia but also in the entire world. This is the reason why he was named one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted men in the world after the fall of Osama bin Laden.”
Two quick points: a) The absence of media coverage of this assassination attempt on the pope is startling, and b) the curse of radical Islam is a worldwide evil that must be destroyed.
