Police arrest two IS suspects, foil planned attacks in Klang Valley

The Bukit Aman Special Branch unit have thwarted a planned militant attack in the country with the arrest of two local suspects.

The suspects are believed to have planned an attack on premises with Western interests including embassies, business centres and entertainment outlets in the Klang Valley area.

According to a police source, the suspects, aged 28 and 31, were arrested in Kuala Lumpur on July 2 and July 7 at the early stages of preparing an attack.

“They had bought army tactical peripherals such as shoes and army fatigues.

“Both the suspects had regularly met since end 2014 at several locations in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor,” he said.

Meanwhile Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar in a statement said, the 28-year-old suspect is believed to have communicated with senior European IS militants.

“The senior IS militants had ordered the suspect to launch an attack on premises with Western interests in Kuala Lumpur apart from entertainment outlets.

“The suspect, who had first been exposed to IS militant ideology in 2012, also has relations with Ahmad Affendi Manaf, the Malaysian who was killed in a suicide attack in Syria last year,” he said.

Meanwhile the 31-year-old suspect was once part of a militant group in Syria but had returned to Malaysia after he was injured in battle.

Police also seized several books on jihad and salafi jihadi ideology apart from a receipt on the purchase of tactical peripherals.

They are being investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Act 747).

Khalid said, the latest arrest is worrying because the suspects have been influenced by militant ideologies.

“This is in line with their modus operandi which is either to sympathise, being influenced by militant ideologies or receive an order from a senior IS militant to launch an attack in their own country like what happened in Tunisia, France and Kuwait last month,” he said.