By John Grafilo (DPA)
KUALA LUMPUR — Police arrested 10 suspected rebels for allegedly planning bomb attacks in Malaysia and Muslim countries, a senior official said Tuesday.
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said one female suspect was arrested Tuesday in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur while the other nine were captured Monday in two raids in the states of Selangor and Kedah.
"We are still tracking and identifying other members," he said.
The suspects, aged between 22 and 55, included students, labourers and professionals, Ahmad Zahid said.
"They will be investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act for being involved in militant groups responsible for planning terror attacks in the country and on foreign soil and for having links with foreign terror groups," the Star newspaper quoted police chief Khalid Abu Bakar as saying.
The suspects were reportedly planning to target Muslim countries they viewed as secular and pro-democracy.
"We are investigating information [that] some of those arrested underwent guerrilla warfare training in Pakistan," a police source said.
The source said investigators had not yet found a direct link between the group and al-Qaeda or the Indonesia-based terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.
"They were monitored conducting fund-raising and recruitment activities before police moved to arrest them," he said.
The source said no firearms were seized but police recovered maps and plans of government buildings and key installations.
