Malaysia says IS militant was planning attack

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s police chief said on Saturday that a suspected militant arrested in a train station in Kuala Lumpur had confessed to planning a suicide attack in the country.

The 28-year-old Malaysian man is believed to be a member of the Islamic State (IS) militant group and was arrested on Friday with weapons and documents related to IS, the police said. In a statement, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said the suspect confessed to planning a suicide attack in Malaysia after receiving orders from a foreign IS member in Syria.

"The suspect is also responsible for hanging IS flags at several locations in the states of Terengganu, Perak, Selangor and Johor, in order to warn the government to stop arresting IS members in Malaysia," Khalid said in the statement.

No further details were given on where and how he was planning the attack.

Malaysia has been on high alert since a bomb and gun attack in neighbouring Indonesia’s capital on Thursday. It has beefed security in public areas and on its borders. Indonesian police killed one suspected militant and arrested two more in raids across the country on Friday, a day after an attack by Islamic State suicide bombers and gunmen in Jakarta that killed seven people. They announced more arrests on Saturday.

Khalid said three other people suspected of being supporters of Islamic State were also arrested between Jan 11 and Jan 15.