bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Amy Chew

Malaysia’s counterterrorism officers this month arrested three Islamic State terror suspects, including a Malaysian national who rejects the country’s government and believes Muslims who take part in democratic elections are infidels, police said on Thursday.
The suspects – from Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh – were detained in a swoop operation conducted between May 17 and 30, said Police Inspector-General Abdul Hamid Bador.
The Malaysian suspect, a 42-year-old contractor, was arrested at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport as he was departing for Egypt to join an Isis affiliate group.

“The suspect was going to Egypt to join IS Sinai, and from [there], slip into Syria,” said Bador.
“The suspect is a firm believer of Salafi Jihadism [and] rejects the democratic and parliamentary system. He does not recognise the Malaysian government and its religious institutions, which he labels as ‘infidels’.
Terror plot by Islamic State ‘wolf pack’ in Malaysia foiled, police say
The suspect – who had pledged baiah (allegiance) to Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi twice on Facebook – also believes Muslims who participate in democratic elections are infidels who are “permitted to be killed”, Bador said.
Although it receives less attention than Isis franchise groups in places such as Libya and Afghanistan, the Isis affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula poses a major threat to regional stability, according to the think tank The Soufan Center.

The second suspect, a 20-year-old Indonesian labourer, is believed to have helped Indonesian Isis members to travel to southern Philippines, where they planned to carry out suicide bombings, via Sabah.
He allegedly channelled funds to the Filipino pro-Isis Maute Group, which laid siege to Marawi City in southern Philippines for five months in 2017. The siege, which killed more than 1,000 people, was the most serious Isis assault in Southeast Asia.
Mothers wearing bombs, killing their own children: today’s terror threat
“The suspect, a labourer, pledged allegiance to Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, leader of Islamic State, via the Telegram [mobile] application,” Bador said.
The suspect also wanted to wage jihad in Syria. He was arrested in Keningau, Sabah state.

The third suspect, a 28-year-old Bangladeshi mechanical assistant who was arrested in Kedah state, is believed to support the Bangladesh arm of Isis.
He is also suspected to possess chemicals and the ability to assemble improvised explosive devices.
Meanwhile, Malaysian police are searching for another Indonesian suspect named Marwan, who allegedly helped Isis members to travel to southern Philippines via Sabah state.
Sabah has long been a jumping-off point for jihadists travelling to the Philippines.


Head of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria killed, Iraqi PM says

Syria’s government signs breakthrough deal with US-backed SDF

Syria risks relapsing into chaos amid US sanctions, infighting

Driver rams car into crowd in German of Mannheim, killing 2

Islamic State

Malaysia arrests three Islamic State terror suspects

The suspects were from Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Photo: Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Unit, Royal Malaysian Police

Photo credit: Special Branch Counter-terrorism Unit, Royal Malaysian Police

Islamic State ‘wolf pack’ in Malaysia planned wave of terror attacks, police say after detaining four suspects in sting operation

Malaysian anti-terror police handle one of the suspects during a sting operation last week. Photo: Handout

***PAY PER USE. Please re-download from vendor website.*** View of Kuala Lumpur Skyline from a helicopter

FILE - In this June 28, 2016, file photo, Malaysian forensic personnel inspect the blast site of a grenade attack at a bar and restaurant in Puchong, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia's police chief said Monday, May 8, 2017, the country's top Islamic State operative was killed in an attack in Syria last month. Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, 26, was believed to have been responsible for the grenade blast that injured eight people. It was the first attack in the country by the Islamic State militant group. (AP Photo/Joshua Paul, File)

Islamic State establishes ‘province’ in India for the first time after clash in Kashmir region

An illustration of the Islamic State flag. Photo: Reuters

In this picture taken on April 26, 2019, security personnel display seized items after they raid what believed to be an Islamist safe house in the eastern town of Kalmunai. - Fifteen people, including six children, died during a raid by Sri Lankan security forces as three cornered suicide bombers blew themselves up and others were shot dead, police said on April 27. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)

In this undated and unlocated tv grab taken from a video released by Al-Furqan media, the chief of the Islamic State group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears for the first time in five years in a propaganda video. - The elusive chief of the IS group al-Baghdadi has appeared for the first time in five years in a propaganda video released on April 29 by the jihadist organisation. It is unclear when the footage was filmed, but Baghdadi referred in the past tense to the months-long fight for Baghouz, IS's final bastion in eastern Syria, which ended last month. (Photo by - / various sources / AFP) / THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PHOTO IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY AFP. RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / SOURCE / AL-FURQAN" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS /

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The suspects, which include a Malaysian citizen who believes Muslims taking part in democratic elections should be killed, were detained in a swoop operation, police said


The suspects, which include a Malaysian citizen who believes Muslims taking part in democratic elections should be killed, were detained in a swoop operation, police said.


Islamic militancy

Malaysia