Malaysian police arrest 9 men suspected of Daesh links

By P Prem Kumar

KUAL LUMPUR

Malaysian police have arrested nine men -- including three former foreign military soldiers -- on suspicion of links to Daesh, all believed to be plotting terror attacks in the Middle East and Malaysia.

Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in statement Saturday that the men were arrested in four states of Malaysia in a secret July 20-Aug. 9 mission by the police's counterterrorism unit.

"The three foreigners were arrested in capital Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 2 for making Malaysia a transit point to get false travel documents and of planning to launch an attack on a country in the Middle East," he said.

The statement did not, however, provide details on the nationality of the foreigners or the Middle East target.

"Out of the six local suspects, three were counterfeit VCD sellers while the others comprised a factory operator, an unemployed person, and a tractor driver," he said.

The men -- aged between 17 and 56 -- were found to be receiving instruction on how to undertake terror attacks on the country's major cities.

Bakar said all were arrested for terrorism under the Penal Code and would be probed under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

He added that a 17-year-old arrested in eastern Sabah was suspected of receiving instructions from Malaysian Daesh members in Syria to launch lone wolf attacks and kill non-Muslims in the state, along with threatening to kill Bakar.

Another Malaysian -- aged 26 years old -- was arrested for planning to launch an attack on the federal police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and on the government complex in administrative capital Putrajaya.

The man was receiving instructions from Mohamad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi to launch attacks in Malaysia, said Bakar.

Jedi -- a Malaysian-born Daesh leader who is suspected of recruiting locals to join the terror movement in Syria -- was instrumental in Daesh's first attack in Kuala Lumpur on June 28 when eight customers at an entertainment center were injured after a hand grenade was hurled towards them.

He is believed to be targeting Malaysia's senior political leaders, police and judges.

After Australia issued an alert last February warning of potential violence in capital Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Najib Razak said that security in major tourist areas countrywide had been beefed up by a joint patrolling team comprised of the military and police.

To-date, some 90 Malaysians have been identified as being involved with Daesh in Syria.

More than 230 terror suspects have been detained in Malaysia since 2013, including 200 locals.

Some 84 suspects have been charged, while 62 have been freed.