Member Of Somalian Terrorist Group Arrested In Malaysia

A 34-year-old east African man, wanted by Interpol for alleged terror links, was detained by the Bukit Aman special branch counter-terrorism unit in Selangor on Thursday.

straitstimes.com

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin, had in a press statement yesterday, said the individual was picked up by Bukit Aman’s special branch counter-terrorism division in Selangor yesterday and is believed to be linked to the Somali-based Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

themalaymailonline.com

Police achieved a breakthrough when they arrested a 34-year-old Somalian man, wanted by Interpol for alleged terror links, in Selangor yesterday.

The man will be investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

straitstimes.com

“He was previously charged with being involved in terror activities in East Africa and was listed in Interpol’s Red Notice (meaning he is being sought to be extradited to his country of origin).

Members of a Somalian terrorist group known as Al-Shabaab have been entering Malaysia pretending to be private college students and tourists.

The Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Unit has been tracking six Al-Shabaab members who entered the country in the past few weeks, according to sources.

They said the group planned to set up a base in Malaysia to hide their members from the authorities. Some of the members had left the country but police were monitoring those still here, the sources said.

“More arrests are expected soon. The police have to act fast before this terrorist group gains a foothold in the country,” one source said.

“Police are investigating his activities in the country to identify if there were any Al-Shabaab terrorist links or members in the country or conducting activities that could jeapordise the nation’s security.”

themalaymailonline.com

It is learned that police are still searching for a weapon cache the man may have.

They added that Al-Shabaab had no links with the militants arrested in Selangor and Kedah recently.

Al-Shabaab enjoys close ties with Al-Qaeda and are believed to have aided Boko Haram militants in the attack on Nyanya Motor Park in Abuja last week claiming the lives of over 200 people.

According to the US National Counter Terrorism Centre, the Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin – commonly known as Al-Shabaab – is the militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts that took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006.

Despite the group’s defeat by Somali and Ethiopian forces in 2007, Al-Shabaab – which is clan-based – has continued its violent insurgency in southern and central Somalia. The group has exerted temporary and, at times, sustained control over strategic locations in those areas, using guerilla warfare and terrorist tactics.

At least two people died and more than 50 were injured in explosions in the Kenya’s capital Nairobi, a day after a similar terrorist attack killed four people in the port city of Mombasa.

livemint.com

Kenya has faced a growing number of attacks since sending troops to fight Islamist militants in neighbouring Somalia three years ago. In September, an attack on Nairobi’s upscale Westgate mall killed at least 67 people. Al-Shabaab, a Somali Islamist militia affiliated with al-Qaeda, took responsibility for that attack, saying it was in retaliation for Kenya’s troop deployment.

livemint.com