09 August 2016•Update: 09 August 2016
By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Daesh has organized nine terror attacks in Malaysia to-date, with most to be carried out by locals returning from Syria, the country's counterterrorism chief told a briefing Tuesday
All, however, were stopped by the authorities at the eleventh hour, Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay added.
Local website the Star Online reported Pitchay as telling foreign diplomats during a security update that among the targets were entertainment outlets, places of worship and government offices in the city center of capital Kuala Lumpur.
He said most attacks were designed and carried out by Malaysians who had joined Daesh in Syria and been trained by them.
To-date, some 90 Malaysians have been identified as being involved with Daesh.
Pitchay said police have detained more than 230 terror suspects since 2013, including 200 locals, with continuing to remain vigilant on the rising influence of Daesh in the country.
Some 84 suspects have been charged while 62 were freed after interrogation, Pitchay said.
Tuesday's closed-door quarterly briefing -- chaired by Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi -- was organized to provide information and clearance on terror threats in the country by Daesh and other terror groups.
On June 28, eight customers at an entertainment center near capital Kuala Lumpur were injured after a hand grenade was hurled towards them while watching the Euro 2016 football tournament on television, marking Daesh's first attack on Malaysia.
On July 4, Police Chief Khalid Abu Bakar said two detained suspects had admitted to have taken instructions from Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, a Malaysian-born Daesh leader, who also recruited locals to join Daesh in Syria.
The duo's initial targets include senior political leaders, police and judges, Bakar said.
Police have since heightened security checks at all entry and exit points in the country while special and periodic checks are carried out in several areas in the capital city and the Klang Valley, which comprises Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs,
Malaysian police raised alert levels to their highest in January following a Daesh-linked attack on neighboring Indonesia that left eight people dead,
They listed seven potential hot spots for Daesh attack and also nabbed a suspected Daesh-linked militant in Kuala Lumpur, saying the arrest occurred just hours before a planned nighttime suicide bombing at an entertainment venue in the Bukit Bintang tourist area.
After Australia issued an alert last February warning of potential violence in capital Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Najib Razak said security at major tourist attractions countrywide had been beefed up by a joint patrolling team comprised of military and police.
