Terror Arrest in Malaysia

Thursday, May 15, 2014
By Jason Ng

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Malaysian police said Thursday that a South Asian person was detained on suspicion of terror-related activities against targets in India after six months of surveillance, the latest in a spate of antiterror arrests this year in the country.

The arrest comes after authorities arrested a suspected East African terror suspect last week whom they alleged was involved in al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group based in Somalia. A week earlier, police detained 11 people suspected to have links to al Qaeda and its Southeast Asian franchise, Jemaah Islamiyah.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Mohd Bakri Zinin said the latest suspect, who was arrested in a special operation in Selangor state, was plotting to launch attacks on foreign consulates in Chennai and Bangalore in India. The suspect's identity and gender weren't released. It was unclear whether legal counsel had been appointed.

Mr. Bakri said that intelligence gathered since authorities started monitoring the person last December was forwarded to Indian authorities which resulted in the arrest of three "main suspects" in India on April 29.

Last week, a senior government official said that Malaysia is taking steps to ensure it doesn't become a center of terror recruiting and training. Antiterror officials have expressed concern that Southeast Asia is becoming a recruitment ground for fighters going to Syria.

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