24 January 2016•Update: 24 January 2016
By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysian police announced Sunday that seven people with suspected links to the Daesh extremist movement have been detained in the last three days, after a planned suicide bombing in Kuala Lumpur was foiled last week.
Khalid Abu Bakar, inspector general of police, said in a short statement that the suspects were captured in various states across the archipelago.
"Congratulations to the counter-terrorism unit for the arrest of the seven suspects. This shows that we remain in control of the country's safety and security of the people," he said.
Bakar added that no weapons were seized during the operations, but a cache of bullets for various types of firearms – including M16 assault rifles – had been secured.
Last week, the Malaysian police nabbed a 28-year-old suspected Daesh-linked militant in capital Kuala Lumpur, just hours before a planned nighttime suicide bombing at an entertainment venue in the touristic Bukit Bintang area.
The police force had also raised its alert level to the highest after an attack left eight people dead in neighboring Indonesia, and listed seven potential hotspots that could be Daesh targets.
The spots, which the public has been cautioned to avoid, include the world's tallest twin building, the Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers, and the KL Tower, as well as popular tourist shopping areas.
Earlier this month, Malaysia's police force said it had arrested 82 people with links to Daesh – 73 of them Malaysians – in the last year alone.
More than 10 Malaysians, including at least 14 women, have been identified as fleeing Malaysia to join Daesh movements in Iraq and Syria using neighboring countries as transit points.
As of December last year, seven had returned home to arrest.
