In a major feat, which is likely to provide a lot of clues into the terror activities in the country, the Malaysian police have arrested seven suspected members of terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This includes a man, who had reportedly threatened to assassinate Malaysian King Muhammad V and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed.
The arrests were a part of the Malaysian police's special operation, which was carried out in the four states – Johor, Terengganu, Selangor, and Perak – between July 12 and 17, police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said in a statement on Thursday, July 19.
Of the seven arrested, four are Malaysian citizens, while the other three are Indonesians, reported the Straits Times.
One of the seven people is said to be a 34-year-old unemployed Malaysian man, who is an ardent ISIS supporter. In the past, he had reportedly written a few Facebook posts, in which he had threatened to assassinate the Malaysian king and the prime minister, along with Religious Affairs Minister Mujahid Yusof Raw. He had said that he wasn't happy with the leaders, as they weren't operating the country as per the Islamic Sharia law.
The man was arrested from Skudai, Johor, on July 17. The same day, the police arrested a 21-year-old factory worker from Johor who also said that he was an ISIS supporter and even planned to join the group in Syria.
Just a day before, on July 16, a 42-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were arrested from Johor, who also seem to have a few links with the ISIS. The woman had transferred RM4,000 (approximately Rs 67,000, $985) to Muhammad Nasrullah Latif, another Malaysian who had joined ISIS and died fighting for them. On the other hand, the arrested man had threatened to bomb Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia in June.
"The 42-year-old Malaysian man was also in close contact with militant leader Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, who has also been killed in Syria," Asia One quoted Harun as saying.
The Indonesian suspects
The first person was detained on July 12, and he is said to be a 26-year-old Indonesian man. "The suspect is a member of Negara Islam Indonesia (NII) terror group, who has received weapons training in Bandung between 2015 and 2018," Harun revealed.
The suspect's wife is also said to be an ISIS supporter and planned to join the group along with other family members.
Another Indonesian man, 27, was arrested on July 12 and the police recovered quite a few clues from him. "He is an IS member and we found 100 videos and 90 photos of the terror group on his mobile phone," Harun said.
"We believed he actively promoted the IS on social media and he planned to join them in Syria."
The third Indonesian was detained on July 14 and he is said to be a 42-year-old factory operator, who has links with the Jamaah Ansharul Daulah terror group. "This group was responsible for killing an Indonesian policeman in West Java on May 10," Harun said.
