Threat at home and abroad

Was there a Malaysian link to the horrific suicide bombings at Kabul airport which killed more than 200 people dead, including 13 US soldiers last week? Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities are questioning two Malaysians who were among six IS-K (Islamic State-Khorasan) fighters captured in the wake of the blasts.

The yet unidentified men were reportedly caught with four Afghans during a gun battle, according to Taliban intelligence chief Maulawi Saifullah Mohammed. IS-K is the Afghan chapter of the IS (also called Daesh) which has been fighting against both US forces and the Taliban in the country.

Saifullah was quoted by British daily The Times as saying that the IS prisoners were expected to “crack” during interrogation.

The IS-K is recognised by IS’ core leadership as the official arm of the group in Afghanistan. It was founded in 2015 by former Afghan and Pakistani Taliban members and fighters of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

With its declared aim of creating an Islamic caliphate in the former Khorasan region - which used to comprise parts of Afghanistan, north eastern Iran and areas of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan - IS-K also succeeded in attracting fighters from various other groups into its fold.

After gaining control over several rural areas in the north and north east of Afghanistan, it launched attacks within the country as well as across the border in Pakistan. Besides targeting government institutions and facilities, it also attacked minorities like the Hazara and Sikh communities.

While Malaysian fighters have fought for the IS in Syria and Iraq, there has been no recent involvement in Afghanistan. But the history is there. Malaysian fighters were among those who joined the fight against Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

After returning, many became members of Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) or Darul Islam, the precursor Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

US-educated Malaysian fighter Yazid Sufaat, who was released from the Simpang Renggam detention centre in 2019, gained notoriety for his exploits in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2002. The US-educated biochemist was a leading figure in al-Qaeda’s development of bioweapons, including the use of anthrax.

Two years earlier, Yazid had hosted al-Qaeda operatives who took part in a meeting in Kuala Lumpur of senior leaders from the group, including two eventual September 11, 2001 hijackers. He was released in 2010 but sent back to jail three years later for recruiting IS members to fight in Syria. He was freed again in 2017 but rearrested when it was discovered he had been recruiting fellow inmates for al-Qaeda while in jail.

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said on Sunday that Malaysia had sought the help of foreign security agencies to verify reports on the arrests of the Malaysian fighters.

Malaysians were among the thousands of foreign fighters who joined the organisation at the peak of the war in Iraq and Syria. Like other radicalised Muslims, they were swayed by IS’ deft use of social media platforms including translating articles from its online magazine Dabiq into Malay and dubbing videos into the language.

IS also penetrated the ranks of Malaysia’s security services. In 2015, it was revealed in the Dewan Rakyat that as many as 70 Malaysian military personnel were found to have “joined” IS. A year later, it was found that two policemen were among 15 arrested for links to IS – one was suspected of planning an attack while the other helped an IS member to avoid arrest.

Estimates on the number of Malaysians, including women and children who went to the conflict zones vary widely – from 102 to as many as 400. It was previously reported that about 40 of them were killed in battles.

Although some of them have been allowed to return under conditions set by the government, how many are still abroad remains unclear. According to a report in Feb last year, 65 Malaysians were held in Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) prisons or Kurdish-controlled camps in northern Syria.

As highlighted in the UNDP Report, 'Homecoming: The Return of Foreign Fighters in South-East Asia' published last year, the foreign fighter phenomenon is primarily a concern for Indonesia and Malaysia.

It noted that both countries have had previous experience with deradicalisation and disengagement programmes, but little is known about their effectiveness. In Malaysia, there is cross-party agreement to repatriate all Malaysian foreign fighters as long as they submit to mandatory rehabilitation although they could be prosecuted if enough evidence exists.

Returnees would be made to undergo a de-radicalisation programme in prisons and after release. Those released would also be subject to supervision orders, counselling and religious education, in addition to help to enable reintegration into society.

According to Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division’s principal assistant director DCP Normah Ishak, the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak had indirectly helped to reduce threats in the country.

She said the pandemic had moved Malaysians out of their comfort zones into survival mode, with people facing problems, such as losing jobs, accumulating debts, unable to pay rents while some did not even have enough to eat, adding that such disruptions to life had dampened the spirits of those who supported such groups and potential fighters were equally affected.

However, she warned against complacency from such threats as the perpetrators usually change according to the situation and environment.

As she pointed out, fighter groups worked in a very structured and organised manner in targeting people who could be easily exploited such as teenagers, youths and the disenfranchised, although professionals too have ended up being obsessed by the deviant ideologies and their futile causes.

Media consultant M. Veera Pandiyan appreciates this piece of advice from Sun Tzu: It is more important to out-think your enemy than to outfight him.