Nigerian Underwear Bomber: 10 Terror Suspects Held

KUALA LUMPUR: Police last week acted quickly to forestall a serious threat to national security when they nabbed 10 terror suspects with links to international terrorist organisations.

The nine foreigners and a Malaysian were also believed to be linked to a Nigerian student who attempted to blow up a US-bound flight on Christmas Day. Among the foreigners nabbed here were several Nigerians but the authorities are tight-lipped over the details. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the nine foreigners had only just arrived here when they were nabbed. “They would not have had time to do much and establish themselves here,” Hishammuddin said. “They posed a serious security threat to the country and have been detained under the ISA (Internal Security Act). ”He, however, refused to reveal the nationalities of the foreign suspects and organisation they were affiliated to. He said police were tipped off by international anti-terrorism agencies and swung into action.

He said terrorist threats were a serious matter regardless of whether they were directed at Malaysia. He rubbished reports claiming there were 50 people arrested under the ISA last week and that 38 of them were released the following day. “This is not true. We were working with other international anti-terrorism agencies and nabbed the 10 suspects who are on the international wanted list. ” The New Straits Times learnt that the 10 suspects were members of a religious group linked to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, the Nigerian who was arrested in the United States after he attempted to detonate explosives sewn into his underwear on board Northwest Airlines flight 253, which was bound for Detroit from Amsterdam.

It was learnt that foreign anti-terrorism agencies informed Malaysian authorities that the 10 were linked to Abdulmutallab and that they were in Malaysia. Authorities are tight-lipped about the arrests, including what they were doing in Malaysia and what status they adopted in entering the country. Abdulmutallab was charged on Dec 26 in the United States with two counts of attempting to blow up and placing a destructive device on a US bound flight. Additional charges were added, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder of 289 passengers and crew of the flight.

He is being held at a federal prison awaiting further trial. Upon conviction, he will face a life sentence plus 90 years in prison. Intelligence officials have reported that Abdulmutallab had met radical ulama Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen and that he was trained for the attack by the Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda. It was reported that Mutallab’s father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, had approached US and Nigerian authorities to warn them about his son’s radical views weeks before the alleged attempt to destroy the flight to Detroit.

NST Online