Student, Housewife Among 15 Extremism Suspects Held in Malaysia

A Malaysian Muslim man enters a Mosque during the fasting month of Ramadan in 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Azhar Rahim / EPA
A Malaysian Muslim man enters a Mosque during the fasting month of Ramadan in 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Azhar Rahim / EPA

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian police have detained 15 suspected militants, several of them foreigners, who were planning attacks on places of worship in Kuala Lumpur.

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National police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun says the 15 comprised six Malaysians, six Filipinos, a Bangladeshi and a couple from a north African country.

He says a 17-year-old student detained in April had made six Molotov cocktails for planned attacks on churches, Hindu temples and entertainment centers.

He says a 51-year-old Malaysian woman was detained on May 9 during general elections for planning to ram a car into non-Muslims at a voting center. He said Friday she had also planned to drive a car filled with gas cylinders into worship places.

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