6 Pinoys nabbed in Malaysian raid

Filipinos among 15 local and foreign jihadists

KUALA LUMPUR— Malaysia has detained 15 suspected Islamist militants, including six Filipinos, who were allegedly plotting terror attacks around Kuala Lumpur, police said on Friday.

Police rounded up the 15, including nine foreigners, in several security operations between March 27 and May 9, InspectorGeneral of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said in a statement.

Teen suicide bomber

They included a 17-year-old secondary school student suspected of being a member of Islamic State (IS), who had allegedly planned “lone wolf” attacks on churches, entertainment centers and Hindu temples around Kuala Lumpur.

The student had made six petrol bombs and tested one of them, Mohamad Fuzi said.

“The suspect had surveyed and filmed the target locations, as well as recorded a video warning of the impending attacks,” he said, adding that the video was uploaded to four IS-linked mobile chatrooms shortly before the suspect was arrested.

Middle-aged housewife

Another detained suspect was a 51-year-old housewife who was arrested on May 9, the day Malaysia held a general election, police said.

The woman was suspected of planning to drive a car onto nonMuslim voters at a polling center on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

“The suspect had also planned to crash into non-Muslim houses of worship using a car fitted with a gas tank to be used as an explosive,” Mohamad Fuzi said.

Fuzi said the six Filipinos, aged between 22 and 49, were held in April in Sabah for being part of a militant cell collecting firearms to wage “jihad” in Marawi City in the Philippines, Fuzi said.

It was the second time Filipino jihadists were arrested in Malaysia after three Filipinos were arrested in Sabah last year.

Abu Sayyaf link

In the Sabah raid, the three Filipinos were suspected of helping terrorist elements of the Abu Sayyaf Group infiltrate Malaysia via Sabah, police said.

Mohamad Fuzi said the latest arrests included a Bangladeshi restaurant owner suspected of smuggling arms to foreign militants. ANorth African couple was also arrested in April but have since been deported to their home country.

IS took responsibility for a grenade attack on a bar on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 2016, when eight people were wounded.

It was the first such terror attack in Malaysia.