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BFF-22
MALAYSIA-ARREST
15 suspects detained in Malaysia over terror-related activities
KUALA LUMPUR, June 1, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – A 51-year-old housewife, who had
planned to ram voters with a car on the polling day of the Malaysian
election, was among 15 suspects detained by the police over terror-related
activities, the police said on Friday.
The suspects, including six Filipinos, a couple from an unspecified north
African country and a Bangladeshi man, were detained by the police anti-
terrorism division in a series of operations between March 27 and May 9, said
Mohamad Fuzi Harun, the Malaysian police chief.
The housewife, who was arrested on May 9, was also accused of planning to
drive a vehicle carrying gas cylinders into non-Muslim worship places.
A 41-year-old Bangladeshi man, who owns a restaurant in downtown Kuala
Lumpur, is believed to be involved in smuggling weapons for terrorist groups,
said Fuzi.
The police also arrested a 17-year-old high school student, who had planned
to launch attacks on churches, entertainment outlets and Hindu temples in
Kuala Lumpur with “Molotov cocktail.”
The police said he already tested one such self-made bomb in an open field.
The police said he also uploaded a video clip to social media declaring the
attack, only to be caught one hour later.
As for the six Filipino suspects, aged between 22 and 49, the police
accused them of stockpiling weapons to be used in their “jihad war” in Marawi
city, which was liberated by the Philippine troops last year.
Two other Malaysians were detained for plotting to attack non-Muslim
worship places and abducting police officers.
Southeast Asia has seen a wave of terror attacks lately, first in southern
Thailand and then Indonesia. A grenade attack at a bar in suburb Kuala Lumpur
took place in 2016, the first attack linked to the Islamic State group. The
country has arrested hundreds of people for suspected links to terrorist
groups in the last several years.
BSS/XINHUA/GMR/1235 hrs