Five young Malays have joined an al-Qaeda splinter group, says a source.
EXCLUSIVE
KUALA LUMPUR: At least five young Malaysians are fighting alongside a radical Islamic group in Syria to oust Bashar al Assad’s regime, according to a source who claims to have met one of them.
Speaking on condition of anonymity in a recent FMT interview, the source said all five were Malays below the age of 25 and had no military training before they joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a group that broke away from al-Qaeda last February and is currently active in Syria and Iraq.
“The only number I can confirm is five, but there could be more,” he said. “They come from different backgrounds. Not all of them went to religious school. Some decided to join the war after learning of the Assad regime’s cruelty through news articles and video clips on the Internet.”
He said he met one of the fighters recently when he returned to Malaysia for a brief family visit.
ISIL, also known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), believes in the strict enforcement of Syariah law. Its aim is to create a Sunni Islamic state covering Iraq and Syria’s eastern desert provinces.
Asked if he knew which organisation in Malaysia was recruiting jihadists for Syria, the source said he had no such information.
“I was told they have meetings here, but I don’t know exactly where they meet and what they discuss. I don’t even know if there is one group or more and I don’t know how they operate in Malaysia.
“My informant was secretive. He said such information could be revealed only to people committed to the cause.”
Turkish connection
However, the source said he did learn that the five jihadists met in Kuala Lumpur before taking a commercial flight to Turkey.
“They entered Turkey with normal visas and then they walked through the border into Syria. I don’t know how far they had to walk.”
According to Western European and Russian intelligence, part-time jihadists often go in and out of Syria across the Turkish border because of its proximity to the battle zone.
A high ranking official at Bukit Aman police headquarters told FMT “certain groups” were being monitored for suspected militant activities.
However, he said authorities could not stop anyone from flying out of the country because there was no law against that.
“We cannot stop them from flying out, and when they come back after completing their mission, they cannot be arrested. There is no law for that.”
In the past two days, Malaysian police have arrested 10 people suspected of planning militant attacks inside and outside the country.
They were arrested near Kuala Lumpur and in Kedah.
Police said they had received military-style training and were raising funds for attacks in Malaysia and other countries.
It is not clear whether any group responsible for recruiting jihadists for Syria is involved in the alleged plot.
EXCLUSIVE
Speaking on condition of anonymity in a recent FMT interview, the source said all five were Malays below the age of 25 and had no military training before they joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a group that broke away from al-Qaeda last February and is currently active in Syria and Iraq.
“The only number I can confirm is five, but there could be more,” he said. “They come from different backgrounds. Not all of them went to religious school. Some decided to join the war after learning of the Assad regime’s cruelty through news articles and video clips on the Internet.”
He said he met one of the fighters recently when he returned to Malaysia for a brief family visit.
ISIL, also known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), believes in the strict enforcement of Syariah law. Its aim is to create a Sunni Islamic state covering Iraq and Syria’s eastern desert provinces.
Asked if he knew which organisation in Malaysia was recruiting jihadists for Syria, the source said he had no such information.
“I was told they have meetings here, but I don’t know exactly where they meet and what they discuss. I don’t even know if there is one group or more and I don’t know how they operate in Malaysia.
“My informant was secretive. He said such information could be revealed only to people committed to the cause.”
Turkish connection
However, the source said he did learn that the five jihadists met in Kuala Lumpur before taking a commercial flight to Turkey.
“They entered Turkey with normal visas and then they walked through the border into Syria. I don’t know how far they had to walk.”
According to Western European and Russian intelligence, part-time jihadists often go in and out of Syria across the Turkish border because of its proximity to the battle zone.
A high ranking official at Bukit Aman police headquarters told FMT “certain groups” were being monitored for suspected militant activities.
However, he said authorities could not stop anyone from flying out of the country because there was no law against that.
“We cannot stop them from flying out, and when they come back after completing their mission, they cannot be arrested. There is no law for that.”
They were arrested near Kuala Lumpur and in Kedah.
Police said they had received military-style training and were raising funds for attacks in Malaysia and other countries.
It is not clear whether any group responsible for recruiting jihadists for Syria is involved in the alleged plot.
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