Police request foreign investigation over claims of Malaysians detained by Taliban

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani. – AZMAN GHANI/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman has not received information of any involvement of Malaysian fighters with the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan, says Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

The Inspector-General of Police said police have already sought the assistance of their foreign counterparts in verifying the news of supposed Malaysian fighters in Afghanistan.

"We have requested the assistance of foreign security agencies to check," he said in a statement on Saturday (Aug 28).

He was commenting on reports of two Malaysians, believed to be fighting alongside "IS-K" – the Islamic State Afghan terror cell – being detained by Taliban authorities.

Britain's The Times quoted Taliban's CID chief Saifullah Mohammed as saying that six fighters – four Afghans and two Malaysians – were detained following a gun battle on the western side of Kabul on Thursday (Aug 26) night.

“Four are Afghans but it seems the other two are Malaysians," he had said.

However, the report did not identify the Malaysians.

Battles between Taliban and IS fighters have been raging in Kabul following a suicide attack by IS at Kabul airport which saw 200 dead, including American troops.

IS-K aims to establish an Islamic caliphate in what was once known as the Khorasan region, made up of present-day north-eastern Iran, parts of Afghanistan and some parts of Central Asia.