Mabul attack: Possible tit-for-tat strike against Malaysian security forces, says Esscom commander

SEMPORNA: The Sabah Eastern Security Command (Esscom) is not discounting the possibility that the shootout on Mabul island was in retaliation to security forces having intensified enforcement in the state's eastern waters, said Esscom commander DCP Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun on Sunday.

Abdul Rashid said that the eight gunmen in Saturday's attack could have planned to carry out a kidnapping at one of the island's resorts but instead, attacked the two policemen.