Police confirm former KUIS student headed to Syria

Police have confirmed that former Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS), Syamimi Faiqah left for Syria on Oct 4 and is believed will join militants of the Islamic State (IS) there.

Federal Police Special Branch principal assistant director (Counter-Terrorism Division) SAC Datuk Ayub Khan Mydin Pitchay said Syamimi, 20, left from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 11.55pm on that day.

"Based on the latest information available, Syamimi is now believed to be at the Turkey-Syria border and is waiting to slip into Syria. When she arrived at Istanbul airport there were already two individuals waiting for her to bring her to Syria overland through the Hatay province (in Turkey).

"Once she reaches the border area, a syndicate will smuggle her into Syria," he told Bernama on Sunday.

A local daily today reported that Syamimi had run off to Syria to marry an IS militant known as Akel Zainal, whom she got to know via Facebook.

Akel Zainal is understood to be a a former member of a local rock group which was famous in the 1990s and is now in Syria to fight for IS.

Ayub said Akel is believed to be trying to entice women in particular Malay girls from local higher learning institution to join IS militants.

"What is worrying is that just through Facebook they were able to convince her to leave her family and could even make arrangements to fetch her from her home to be brought to KLIA," he said.

He added that since police started monitoring Malaysians' involvement in Syria, so far five have been reported killed and six others injured in clashes between militants and the security forces there.

It has been reported that so far 22 Malaysians including three women have been detected to be with militant groups in Syria.

Twenty-three others have been detained in the country for alleged links with these groups.