Report tells of fighters chosen specially for sniper work and suicide bombings.
KUALA LUMPUR: More than 200 militants from Indonesia and Malaysia are part of Katibah Nusantara, the Malay speaking arm of the Islamic State terrorist network, according to Malaysian police.
Fighters from the group are chosen for specialised tasks such as sniping or suicide bombings, according to an unidentified source quoted by Star Online.
The group, first called Majmu’ah al Arkhabiliy two years ago, began with 100 members based in Raqqa, Syria.
The Malaysian and Indonesians live in an apartment complex with their families. Militants from Malaysia, Indonesia and sometimes Singapore would usually band together because of shared language, culture and food.
New arrivals in Syria are given weapons training for a month.
The group, now called Katibah, has published videos and leaflets in Malay to expand their recruitment, and young children in Indonesia and Malaysia were being used to propagate the Islamic State’s cause on social media.
South-East Asia is home to a large population of Sunni Muslims. About 30 militant groups in the region have already pledged allegiance to Islamic State, according to a Singapore university study quoted in the report.
“It’s the returning fighters that the authorities have to watch out for,” according to an intelligence source quoted. “These seasoned militants are coming back with combat experience and their expertise will be fully exploited by Islamic State.”
A former University of Malaya lecturer Dr Mahmud Ahmad has previously been reported to be planning to unite different terrorist cells in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Dr Mahmud, known as Abu Handzalah, was training with Abu Sayyaf and taking part in operations in the southern Philippines, according to Malaysian counter-terrorism police.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/01/17/200-in-malay-speaking-is-terror-group/
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