24 January 2017

News Story: Malaysian police busts 4-member terror cell linked to IS

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian police have busted a terror cell linked to Islamic State (IS), which the police suspected of using the state of Sabah to transfer new recruits to southern Philippines.

The IS-linkage was established after four suspects of the cell were arrested during two recent operations by the police counter-terrorism branch in January, said Khalid Abu Bakar, Inspector-General of the police in a statement on Monday.

The police found one of the suspects, a 31-year-old Filipino man who worked as a watch seller when he was caught in Kota Kinabalu, has been taking orders from the so-called "Dr. Mahmud Ahmad," a former university lecturer who joined the IS in southern Philippines as a recruiter for the terror group.

The police chief said the man was instructed to help new recruits to transit via Sabah to Marawi city in Mindanao of the Philippines.

Read the full story at Xinhua