IGP: Three remaining members of IS-linked Ramadan terror group arrested

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Police here have arrested the three remaining members of a terror group linked to the Islamic State (IS), believed to be planning attacks and assassinations in Malaysia to avenge the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador said that the counter-terrorism division arrested two Malaysians and one Indonesian suspect in Kedah and Selangor who belonged to the IS group and were planning attacks during Ramadan.

The two locals, Muhammad Syazani Mahzan and Muhamad Nuurul Amin Azizan, both 27 years old, were arrested after they turned themselves in in Kuala Muda, Kedah, with the cooperation of their family members.

The Indonesian, labourer Nuruddin Alele @ Fatir Tir, 34, was arrested in Banting Selangor based on public tip-offs. He had been exposed to the ideology of the Islamic State during his five year incarceration in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Earlier this month, police arrested four men, part of a “wolf pack” who were planning terror attacks and assassinations in Malaysia, along with six Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) measuring 18cm long capable of killing thousands and a 9mm CZ pistol with 15 bullets, believed to be from Syria.

Two of the suspects were from the Rohingya ethnic group, one Indonesian, and one Malaysian, who were caught in raids conducted between May 5 and 7 in Kuala Lumpur, Subang Jaya, and Kuala Berang in Terengganu.

Police had been hunting the three remaining suspects in connection with the case since then.

Hailing from Bedong, Kedah, Muhammad Syazani was a burger vendor, while Muhamad Nuurul was a farmer.

“Both the local suspects had previously worked with Muhammad Izham Razani, a known Malaysian bomb expert who is now under police custody, who ran a bomb-making exercise in Yogyakarta last year with Indonesian terror group Jemaah Ansharut Daulah Indonesia,” said Abdul Hamid in a statement here today.

“They learned how to make large scale bombs and car bombs with Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP), and also ran surveillance on a few churches in Yogyakarta as part of their planned attacks,” he added.

The IGP said that Muhammad Syazani is suspected to be among those who was planning to launch suicide bomb attacks on non-Muslim house of worship in the country.

All of them will be charged under the Act 574 of the Penal Code and will be investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

The police said that the group was planning to assassinate high profile targets and launch simultaneous terror attacks on entertainment outlets as well as Hindu and Buddhist temples and Christian churches during the first week of Ramadan to exact revenge for fireman Muhammad Adib who died during the Seafield temple riots fracas.