Malaysia’s police said yesterday they had arrested five people, including a Bangladesh national, for alleged links with militant groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
The country’s police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement that four of the arrestees are foreign nationals and one is a Malaysian.
The arrests were made between November 17 and December 1.
Among the arrestees is a 44-year-old European who works as a teacher in the state of Penang on a temporary basis, has links with al-Qaeda and allegedly participated in militant acts in Afghanistan and Bosnia, police said.
The three other foreigners – a 31-year-old Indonesian man, a Malaysian and a Bangladeshi – were part of a cell linked to the Islamic State and were tasked with recruiting members to take part in militant activities overseas.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Shahidul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that he had learned about the arrest from news reports. “We know nothing else. We are waiting for information from the Malaysian authorities.”
Malaysia raised its terror threat level after reports on Friday that ten Syrians linked to the Islamic State entered Thailand in October to attack Russian interests.