PNP-OIC delares mission accomplished as FBI confirms death of Marwan

MANILA, April 5 (PNA) -- Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, officer in charge of the Philippine National Police (PNP), on Sunday announced that the operation against Malaysian terrorist Zulkipli bin Hir alias Marwan in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in Mindanao last Jan. 25 is mission accomplished.Espina said this was after the the result of the confirmatory DNA tests and further investigation conducted by the US FBI that established with certainty the identity of international terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan as the person who was successfully neutralized by the PNP-SAF in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25, 2015. These conclusive findings effectively dismissed any and all doubts about the death of one of Asia's most wanted and dangerous terrorists, he noted. Based on this new evidence provided by modern science, there is no doubt that the PNP-SAF indeed got their man, as they always do. This fact should add to the glory and honor of the 44 brave young men who offered the supreme sacrifice to get the job done, he added.The the Mamasapano incident last Jan. 25 which led to the deaths of international terrorist Marwan and 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF). On their behalf, as OIC of the PNP, I declare that Marwan is dead. Mission Accomplished, Espina said as Marwan was one of three high-value targets of the SAF operation.In a statement, David Bowdich, assistant director in charge at the FBI Los Angeles Field office said the agency has now taken bin Hir off its Most Wanted Terrorist list and thanked the Philippine police. Once again, the men and women of the FBI express sincere condolences to the brave officers of the Special Action Force who lost their lives while attempting to apprehend this dangerous fugitive, Bowdich said.The Mamasapano assault became an hours-long firefight between the elite police force and members of the MILF, its splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and other private armed groups.A total of 67 people died in the Mamasapano clash, including 44 SAF officers, 18 MILF members, and five civilians. (PNA)CTB/CLTC