Seven IS militants held in multiple raids

Taken away: Special Branch officers detaining one of the seven IS members in Kuantan as part of special operations.

KUALA LUMPUR: Seven Islamic State (IS) militants have been nabbed after multiple raids around the country in the latest operation against terrorists.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the suspects, aged between 26 and 50, were arrested in the city, Johor, Kedah, Pahang and Selangor by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division.

“They were detained under special operations which began on Friday. We believe that the suspects were planning attacks on strategic locations in the country,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Khalid said one of them had received orders from known militant Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi while another was ordered by Indonesian Katibah Nusantara leader Bahrun Naim, the man responsible for ordering recent attacks in Jakarta.

The IGP said of the two suspects arrested in Johor, one was an assistant manager at a hotel in Nusajaya while the other was a factory store caretaker.

“Two others were detained in Kedah.

“One of them, a 50-year-old cendol seller, is responsible for raising funds to cover the expenses of those intending to join IS.

“The money is also meant to be used for attacks in Malaysia. The other suspect nabbed is his assistant from Terengganu,” he said.

Three remaining suspects, including a security guard, were detained in Gombak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Pahang.

Among the items seized from them were 30 bullets of different calibres, books on Jihad, IS flags and a propaganda video.

All seven were held under Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012.

It is learnt that all of them are from the same cell as the suspect arrested at the Setiawangsa LRT on Jan 15.

An informed source said the IS cell in Malaysia had started to break into smaller groups to avoid detection.

“They are also divided according to zones – east, south and central,” said the source.

It is believed that members of the cell were planning to attack several locations, including entertainment outlets and “vice dens”.