Ten suspects nabbed over IS link

The eight men and two women, aged between 24 and 42, were arrested on Wednesday in various parts of the Muslim-majority country, according to an official statement.

Ten Malaysians, including six security forces personnel and a kindergarten teacher were picked up over suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

Although Malaysia has not seen any significant militant attack, it has arrested almost 100 citizens this year on suspicion of links to the Islamic State.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the suspected militants were believed to be plotting an attack on Malaysian soil, and were collecting funds to assist Malaysian ISIS members wanting to travel to Syria.

The arrests were carried out by the Counter Terrorism Division of the Bukit Aman Special Branch.

Khalid said the suspects were held for investigations for terrorism under laws of the Penal Code and Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, (Sosma).

Mr Khalid said that the suspects were also recruiting people for ISIS and hiding information of the group’s activities.

Recruits now include young women and families, with domestic news reporting that a family of four had travelled to Syria, while a Malaysian female doctor’s posts on Facebook on her life as a militant’s wife in Syria have attracted wide attention.

“We also believe they were planning to acquire weapons to launch attacks in Malaysia, ” Khalid said.

“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 senior Isis members in Syria launched attacks”, he said last month.