KUALA LUMPUR: Police anti-terrorist operatives nabbed 14 suspected Islamic State (IS) militants and seized an improvised-explosive device (IED) in a series of interstate operations recently.
The militants included a man who possesses the know-how to build IEDs, and had became a trusted follower of Malaysian IS leader in Syria, Wanndy Mohamad Jedi.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the 13 men and a woman, aged between 20 and 49, were nabbed in a special operation by federal police Special Branch's Counter-Terrorism Division (SB-CTD) between July 14 and Wednesday.
The operation took place in Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Penang and Sabah.
Four of them are unemployed, three are self-employed, two work as cooks at a franchise restaurant in the Klang Valley, two are private companies' employees, while three others are a mechanic, a welder and a student.
"Twelve of the suspects are members of the same IS cell which police busted end of last month.
"Police believe these suspects had also received direct orders from Muhammad Wanndy Mohamad Jedi to carry out terror attacks on Malaysian soil.
"One of them had admitted that he received an order from Wanndy to build an IED for a planned attack in the Klang Valley. He had also shared his knowledge in building IEDs via the Telegram app with other IS members," he said in a statement released by Bukit Aman this afternoon.
He said SB-CTD operatives seized an IED, weighing about a kilogramme, from the suspect. Police believed that the bomb, which was ready for use, was meant to be used against high-ranking police officers.
Khalid said the bomb-maker told investigators that Wanndy had promised to give him a pistol through a third party. The weapon was meant for his protection against authorities.
Khalid said another suspect -- a 49-year-old man whom police nabbed in Kedah -- is a senior IS member who had been actively recruiting new members through secret meet ups in the state.
"The man was responsible in arranging several Malaysian IS members' travel to Syria, including Abu Ghani Yaacob, also known as Abu Kedah, who was killed in Syria on April 17.
"Police also arrested a 43-year-old woman in Perak who had been actively promoting IS ideologies. She had planned to travel to the southern Philippines to join an IS group with the help of Dr Mahmud Ahmad, who had joined with the Abu Sayyaf guerillas there."
He said the suspects are being detained for suspicion of committing offences under Chapter VI A of the Penal Code, and are being investigated according to procedures under the Security Offences (Special Measure) Act 2012 (SOSMA).