The police have arrested two Malaysian men suspected to have links with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) militant group.
The duo had plans to attack several targets in the Klang Valley, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said today.
He said that the suspects were picked up in two operations in Kuala Lumpur, on July 2 and 7, conducted by the Counter Terrorism Division of the Bukit Aman Special Branch, which also resulted in the seizure of books on jihad (holy war) and the Salafi Jihadi ideology as well as receipts for the purchase of tactical combat items.
One of the suspects, aged 28 and hailing from Kuala Lumpur, was caught on July 2, he said, adding that he was found to have links with several Europeans who were senior members of the Isis in Syria.
“Since the middle of last year, two senior European members of Isis had given instructions to the suspect to launch attacks on Western interests in Kuala Lumpur and places of entertainment in the Klang Valley.
“The suspect, who was exposed to the ideology of the Isis militant group from 2012, had had close links with Ahmad Affendi Manaf, the Malaysian who was killed in a suicide attack in Homs, Syria, on Nov 9 last year,” he said in a statement.
Khalid said the other suspect, aged 31 and also from Kuala Lumpur, was arrested on July 7. He said the suspect was with Isis in Syria between early and August 2014 before returning to Malaysia after being injured in a clash over there.
“The two suspects met several times in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor since the end of 2014 to discuss their plot to launch attacks in Malaysia,” he said.
Khalid said the latest trend of Malaysians planning to launch attacks in the country upon getting instructions from Isis senior members in Syria is most worrying.
“This is similar to the modus operandi of the latest attacks in Tunisia, France and Kuwait at the end of last month, where individuals sympathetic to and influenced by terrorist ideology or upon getting instructions from Isis senior members in Syria launched attacks,” he said.
Khalid said the two suspects were caught for offences under Chapter VIA – Offences Relating to Terrorism of the Penal Code (Act 574) and would be investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Act 747).
Sources: www.themalaysianinsider.com
