KUALA LUMPUR – Seven Islamic State militants – four of them foreigners – have been detained by Bukit Aman in a four-state swoop.

Teams from the Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division arrested the suspects after conducting raids in Malacca, Selangor, Sabah and Johor between Nov 3 and Dec 16.

Police picked up three foreigners on Nov 3 in Selangor, according to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

“Two of them are students of Universiti Antarabangsa Al-Madin­ah in Shah Alam.

“A foreign authority investigated one of them for IS activities and for attempting to get security information of a private school in the city.

“The third suspect was arrested by a Middle East country’s security force in 2010 for being involved with the al-Qaeda terror network,” he said, adding that all three were deported to their home countries on Nov 22 and Nov 23.

The fourth suspect, a 26-year-old foreigner, worked as a factory operator in Johor. His arrest on Dec 8 was for joining IS and attempting to smuggle weapons to Poso, Indonesia.

“He also tried to enter Myanmar illegally to launch an attack,” Khalid said in a statement yesterday.

“The fifth suspect is a 24-year-old Malaysian. Police arrested him in Malacca on Nov 26 for joining IS.

“We believe he was receiving orders from known militant Mohamad Wanndy Mohamad Jedi to carry out attacks on entertainment outlets in Malacca and Kuala Lumpur.

“He also received tutelage on how to make an improvised explosive device from another militant in Syria, Muhammad Nasrullah Abd Latif, also known as Abu Gomes,” said Khalid.

Police held the sixth suspect, a 24-year-old Malaysian lorry driver, on Dec 16.

“We believe he was planning to launch attacks on entertainment outlets in Kuala Lumpur,” Khalid said.

He said police arrested the last suspect, a 35-year-old furniture factory worker, in Kota Kinabalu on Nov 16 for joining an IS cell in Sabah.

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