12 Facts About Zainuri Kamaruddin

Zainuri Kamaruddin, known by his nom de guerre Abu Talhah, was a prominent Malaysian Islamist militant who fought as commander for Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia and later the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Katibah Nusantara.

In May 2016, Zainuri was declared "public enemy No 1" by Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Ahmad Zahid Hamidi due to his skills in the construction of improvised explosive devices.

Zainuri Kamaruddin was killed by an airstrike on Raqqa during Operation Wrath of Euphrates.

Zainuri Kamaruddin participated in battles in Kunar Province, Khost Province and the Battle of Jalalabad, gaining "vast battlefield experience".

In 1998, Zainuri Kamaruddin was working on a bomb; the device exploded prematurely, destroying his home and killing his wife, Rahimah Osman.

Zainuri Kamaruddin managed to cover this up by telling the police that the detonation was the result of a failing gas cylinder.

Over fifteen years later, Zainuri Kamaruddin admitted to other ISIL fighters that he still felt guilty about his first wife's death.

Zainuri Kamaruddin participated in a KMM raid on the Guar Chempedak police station with the aim of capturing M16 rifles for the insurgency against the government, and helped planning the Southern Bank robbery in Petaling Jaya in 2001, in course of which the KMM militants hoped to acquire funds for their rebellion.

Zainuri Kamaruddin did not participate in the heist himself deeming it to risky; when his accomplices were promptly caught, they betrayed him to the police.

In Syria, Zainuri Kamaruddin initially joined Ajnad al-Sham, but soon switched allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Zainuri Kamaruddin won some renown by appearing in an ISIL propaganda video in May 2016, during which he burned his Malaysian passport to show that he had severed all links to his homeland's government.

Thereafter, Zainuri Kamaruddin continued to fight for ISIL in Syria until January 2017, when he contacted his family for the last time.