Malaysian police have detained seven people suspected to be members of the Islamic State, following the arrest of an individual alleged to have been plotting a suicide attack in the country.
The seven Malaysian nationals, aged between 26 to 50 years old, were arrested based on information gathered by police authorities in the same operation that led to the arrest of the suspected suicide bomber last Jan. 15.
The seven suspects were arrested at various times over the last week, the Wall Street Journal noted, underscoring Malaysia’s concerns over the influence the Islamic State is exerting over their supporters in Southeast Asia.
According to National police chief, Khalid Abu Bakar, the detained individuals were involved in pinpointing prime targets for terrorism in a country composed of approximately 30 million predominantly Muslim people.
Khalid added one of the seven suspects had been receiving instructions from a Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, a Malaysian identified as having joined the Syrian branch of ISIS last year, Yahoo reported.
Another of the suspects was getting directives from Syria-based militant, Bahrun Naim, whom Indonesia authorities believed to have organized the terrorist bombings which killed eight people in Jakarta earlier this month.
Malaysian police have released other information about the seven detainees, who hail from different parts of the country. One sold traditional Malaysian deserts, another worked as a GPS installation worker, and a third was employed as a lab technician.
According to Khalid, a number of the suspects were found to have propaganda videos, the Islamic State flag, and ammunition during the time of their arrest, ABC News said.
Police authorities say they have estimated some several hundred radical sympathizers from Malaysia and Indonesia have joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq. A newly formed division dubbed the Malay Archipelago Combat Unit is alleged to have been behind the series of recent suicide attacks.
To date, Malaysian police have arrested over 120 individuals in the last two years who are suspected to have connections with the Islamic State.
