Malaysian police have arrested seven men with links to ISIS who were planning attacks on non-Muslim places of worship and other targets, Reuters quoted the authorities as saying on Saturday.
The country has been on high alert since gunmen allied with ISIS carried out a series of attacks in Jakarta, the capital of neighboring Indonesia, in January 2016.
Six Malaysians were arrested in Johor state, north of Singapore, while a seventh, a Filipino man, was detained in the eastern state of Sabah, in multiple operations between Feb. 27 and Mar. 15, Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said in a statement.
He said the six detained in Johor were members of an ISIS cell and included a 37-year-old technician who recruited new militants and was believed to be the mastermind of planned attacks on non-Muslim places of worship in the state's capital.
A second suspect was a security guard who served as the cell's advisor and ensured members kept their activities secret.
A third man was tasked with buying firearms from a neighboring country and identifying targets for attacks, he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"All of them planned to escape to a neighboring country and seek shelter from members of a militant group there after successfully carrying out the plan," Muhamad Fuzi said, without naming the country.
Authorities arrested three other members of the same cell in follow-up operations, including a 25-year-old restaurant worker who had been ordered to kidnap and kill police personnel.
Police also detained a 31-year-old Philippine national in Sabah on Borneo island.
Mohamad Fuzi said the suspect had planned to carry out several attacks in Sabah and was responsible for making the state a safe haven for terror groups from the Philippines.
