Malaysian police hunting 4 'dangerous' Islamic State-linked terror suspects

The Malaysian authorities are on the hunt for four suspected Islamic State-linked terrorists who were part of an alleged plot to kidnap and murder police officers as well as attack non-Muslim places of worship.

In a news release on Monday (16 April), the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) identified the four men as Muhamad Faizal Muhamad Hanafi, Muhamad Hanafi Yah, Nor Farkhan Mohd Isa and Awae Wae-eya. Faizal and Hanafi are Malaysians from Kelantan; Farkhan is a Malaysian from Johor and Awae is a 37-year-old Thai national.

All four were described as being “dangerous” and are suspected of being part of the same IS cell as six others who were arrested by Johor counter-terrorism forces between 27 February and 1 March.

Efforts are underway to locate the four men who are capable of “taking action to undermine national security”, said the RMP release in Malay.

Those with information on the suspects have been advised to contact the authorities. The RMP also warned that those found to have kept information or assisted the suspects face jail terms of between seven and 30 years.