Malaysia arrests 2 with suspected link to Islamic State

Two Malaysians have been arrested for suspected link with Islamic State (IS) and plot to launch attacks in the country, police said.

The two suspects, both from the capital of Kuala Lumpur, were nabbed in two separate operations by police counter-terrorism branch on July 2 and July 7 respectively, police said.

The suspects met several times in Kuala Lumpur and the neighboring Selangor state since 2014 to discuss plans to launch attacks in the country.

One of the suspects, 28, was believed to have links with several Europeans holding senior members of the IS in Syria. He was also believed to be close to a Malaysian citizen who died when trying to launch a suicide attack in Syria.

Since the middle of 2014, two senior European members in the IS had given instructions to the suspect to launch attacks on Western interests in Kuala Lumpur and some places of entertainment, according to national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar.

The other suspect, aged 31, has joined IS in Syria early 2014 before returning to Malaysia after being injured in fighting.

"The fresh arrest, in which local suspects plan to launch attack after communicate with senior members of IS in Syria, is a new trend that most worrying, " Khalid said.

"This is similar to the modus operandi of the latest attacks in Tunisia, France and Kuwait at the end of last month, where individuals either sympathetic to, being influenced by terrorist ideology or receiving instructions from IS senior members in Syria launched attacks, " he added.

Malaysian authorities believed several dozens of Malaysian citizens have joined IS in the Middle East. The government has strengthened measures against potential terrorist threat to the country. Endi