[The Nation] Malaysian police are hunting for four insurgents suspected of planning attacks on non-Muslim places of worship, as well as to kidnap and murder policemen.Malaysia's police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said in a statement that six militants were arrested between Feb 27 and March 1. But four others are still on the run. Police said the men were dangerous and "capable of launching attacks that could pose a threat to national security".
Two of the suspects listed were named as Muhamad Faizal Muhamad Hanafi and Muhamad Hanafi Yah, both from Kelantan state. A third suspect is Nor Farkhan Mohd Isa, whose address was given as being in Skudai, southern Johor. The fourth suspect is Awae Wae-Eya, a Thai national living in Narathiwat province.
Intelligence sources believe Awae is the group's leader, based on interrogation of the men arrested, and that he is trying to establish an ISIS cell in southern Thailand.
The plot was uncovered after Malaysian counter-terror police, with assistance by their Singaporean counterparts, detained the rebels in a series of raids. The order to kidnap and kill policemen is thought to be the first of its kind.
The six men nabbed earlier included a technician who was initially believed to have masterminded the plans to attack places of worship in Johor Baru. The second suspect was the cell's adviser and responsible for keeping the cell and its plans secret.
Also picked up during the raids was a man who was responsible for acquiring firearms from a neighboring country and scouting for non-Muslim houses of worship to target. Another suspect had been ordered to kidnap and kill policemen.
An Abu Sayyaf militant in the Philippines was also nabbed during the police crackdown in Sabah on March 15. The man is said to be a trusted lieutenant to Furuji Indama, the group's leader based in Basilan. Thought to have connections to Malaysian militant Mahmud Ahmad, he is also wanted by Philippines authorities for involvement in a kidnap-for-ransom syndicate. He is an expert in making improvised explosive devices and had planned to attack several locations in Sabah.funding and refuge in South-east Asia.