Malaysian police on Monday said they had arrested seven people, including five Filipinos, for suspected involvement to the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
The Southeast Asian nation has been on high alert since armed gunmen linked to the IS launched multiple attacks in Jakarta in January 2016.
Malaysia arrested more than 250 people between 2013 and 2016 over alleged militant activities linked to the IS.
Police Inspector-General Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement that most of the arrests were made during and operation in Sabah, on Borneo island, earlier this month.
A Filipino suspect with permanent residency in Malaysia was detained on suspicion of raising funds for Mahmud Ahmad and Mohamad Joraimee Awang Raimee, two Malaysians who had joined up with the IS in the southern Philippines, Khalid said.
Another Filipino was planning to travel to Syria to join up with the IS there, while another was found to have pledged allegiance to Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the Abu Sayyaf militant group.
Last June, militants who claimed to be fighting for Islamic State said in a video they had chosen Hapilon to lead their Southeast Asian faction
Two other Filipino suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested for smuggling three IS members from Malaysia and Indonesia to the southern Philippines through Sabah, Khalid said.
Police officials also arrested a Malaysian woman, who worked as an airport immigration official, on suspicion of helping individuals without valid travel documents, including Malaysian and Indonesian IS followers, to enter and exit the Philippines through Sabah.
Meanwhile, a Malaysian man was arrested at Kuala Lumpur's main airport on Sunday after being deported from Turkey, Khalid said. The suspect had traveled to Istanbul in October with plans to enter Syria with the help of an IS member from Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Source: Reuters
Images: InterAksyon | Long War Journal
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