A man suspected to be linked to militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was arrested yesterday (Friday, 15th January) in Kuala Lumpur.
According to a report by TMI, the 27-year-old former insurance agent travelled 451km from Terengganu to Kuala Lumpur and had plans to attack an entertainment outlet in the city. The lone-wolf attack was to have been executed at about 10pm.
It is not known, however, which entertainment outlet in Kuala Lumpur was the target of the attack.
Upon the man’s arrest at the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) station in Jelatek yesterday evening, the Malaysian police also seized a weapon and an ISIS-related document.
Channel News Asia‘s Malaysia Bureau Chief Melissa Goh tweeted the following PDRM media statement following the arrest of the terror suspects:
A msian couple, an insurance salesman & an engineer were among latest terror suspects picked up by police.Aged 23-28 pic.twitter.com/CKfTS1MXkF
— Melissa Goh (@MelGohCNA) January 16, 2016
27yr old former insurance agent arrested by special branch,said to be planning attack on entertainment outlet in KL pic.twitter.com/3RIFXPkStR
— Melissa Goh (@MelGohCNA) January 16, 2016
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar also took to Twitter to announce the arrest, congratulating the police unit handling the operation.
He confirmed that the man was in possession of a weapon and an ISIS-related document.
Syabas E8 CK @pdrm semlm tkap 1 (L) disyaki elemen IS di LRT Jelatik, Ampg. Senjata dan dokumen IS dirampas. #GoPDRMGo
— Khalid Abu Bakar (@KBAB51) January 15, 2016
Translation: Congratulations E8 CK (Special Branch) @PDRMsia for the arrest of a man suspected of having IS elements at LRT Jelatek. Weapon and IS document seized.
Malaysia’s alert status has been raised to the highest level following the terror attack in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday (14th January 2016) which killed at least 7 people and left 23 people wounded.
Khalid said after the latest attacks in Jakarta, security measures were increased in public places, such as shopping malls and tourist spots in Malaysia. He also said precautionary action would be implemented at border areas to prevent possible infiltration by terrorists.
We urge all Malaysians to stay safe and to immediately report any suspicious people/activities to the authorities.
Sources: TMI, CNA’s Twitter, Melissa Goh’s Twitter, IGP’s Twitter, CNN, New York Times.
