Religious school teacher among two arrested over ISIS links

Police have arrested two men for suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) terror group, including a 25-year-old religious school teacher who had previously served an 18-month jail sentence for terror offences.

In a press release issued on Monday (Jan 22), Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the teacher was the first of the two arrested, adding that the suspect was arrested in Petaling Jaya on Dec 23.

“He was previously held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. He was then released on Novr 9, 2016,” said Mohamad Fuzi.

He added that the teacher was planning to launch attacks on entertainment outlets in the Klang Valley.

“He was also planning to murder non-Muslims as his false jihad beliefs warranted such killings, and he also believed that assets belonging to non-Muslims can be seized,” added Mohamad Fuzi.

The IGP said the teacher was also actively promoting the IS ideology on Facebook with the aim of recruiting new militants.

“We also discovered that he has connections to former IS members and former Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM) members who have been previously detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA),” he said.

Mohamad Fuzi said the second arrest was that of a 23-year-old Indonesian man on Wednesday (Jan 17), who planned to attack the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman as well as the Travers police station.

“We discovered that he had already scouted both locations by recording video footage and we believe he was planning to raid the armouries of both locations as well as those of other police stations in the city and army camps,” he said.

Mohamad Fuzi said the weapons obtained would have been used to launch terror attacks in Malaysia and Indonesia, adding that the suspect had gone to Jalan Pudu with a knife last November in an unsuccessful attempt to attack Buddhist monks.

He said the attack was unsuccessful as the suspect failed to find any monks on that day.

“We seized the knife that would have been used in the attack following a raid at the suspect’s home,” he said.

The country’s top cop added that the suspect also performed the Bai’ah (oath of allegiance) to a senior IS leader via WhatsApp and even attempted to recruit other Indonesians to his cause.

“To prove that the terror group is still active in Malaysia despite defeats in Iraq and Syria, the suspect even waved the IS flag at a construction site where he worked,” he said, adding that both men have been held under Sosma.

Source: The Star