KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 ― The armed forces have boosted security at their camps to prevent the outlawed militant group Islamic State (IS) from stealing weapons, a senior officer from the armed forces said.

The Eighth Infantry Brigade Brigadier-General Datuk Azmy Yahya said that regular patrols were being carried out as part of the measures to impose stricter security, noting that intelligence showed that IS was eyeing military camps to get firearms.

“Such precautions are necessary to ensure that the army camps ― and officers ― are secure from any encroachment, not only from this group but also outsiders,” he was quoted saying yesterday by local daily New Straits Times.

Azmy also advised army officers not to be affected by the IS group.

“This militant group is known to recruit officers from the Malaysian Armed Forces because they are military-trained. I would like to advise officers not to be influenced by the group’s ideologies.

“I also call upon all government agencies to monitor their officers and their family members so that they do not get taken in by the propaganda, which misuses the concept of jihad in the name of religion,” he said.

Since February last year, the Special Branch and Counter-Terrorism Division has arrested 107 suspected Malaysian militants.

Last weekend, police arrested 12 suspected IS militant, including a 17-year-old boy, who were on their way up to Gunung Nuang, supposedly to test homemade bombs that would be used in car bombs or suicide attacks.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said police seized bomb-making materials, including 20kg of ammonium nitrate and 20kg of potassium nitrate — key ingredients to make explosives.

Other items confiscated were two litres of kerosene, two remote controls, a motor alarm, different types of wires, four 9-volt batteries, a digital scale, two measuring devices, three PVC pipes, an IS flag and other tools to make explosives.