Malaysia cops detain 9 suspected IS militants

TIL Desk/World/Kuala Lumpur-In a four-state swoop, Malaysian police have detained nine suspected Islamic State (IS) militants, including two allegedly involved in a shooting at a nightclub here recently. The Counter Terrorism Division arrested the suspects in Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Sabah and Kelantan between July 20 and August 9.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said in a press release that three of the suspects arrested aged between 17 and 56 were foreigners. He said the three were using Malaysia as a transit point while they obtained forged travel documents to launch an attack on a country in the Middle East.

Khalid said the 17-year-old suspect detained in Sabah had received orders from an IS militant in Syria to launch a lone wolf attack by killing non-Muslims in Sandakan. Khalid identified the two night club bombing suspects as Jasanizam Rosni and Md Saifuddin Muj who were nabbed in a hilly area in Kuala Krai, in Kelantan state on Tuesday.