KUALA LUMPUR: Police today confirmed that a militant arrested in Maluso by the Phillippines early this month, is a Malaysian.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said that the man, who hailed from Kelantan, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic militant movement in the southern Philippines.
The man is believed to be an expert bomb-maker.
“He is indeed a Malaysian citizen from Kelantan. From what we know, this man is a supporter of the Islamic struggle in the southern Phillipines,” Khalid told reporters at the Police Training Academy in Cheras today.
Khalid, however, denied claims that the man was caught carrying materials for Improvised Explosive Device. This, he said, were only claims made by the Philippines authorities.
He said the man was not under the watch of the Malaysian military.
According to a foreign news report, Philstar, yesterday, the man was arrested by the Phillipines security forces and is currently in the custody of its military intelligence.
The army's 104th Infantry Brigade commander Colonel Cirilo Donato had yesterday confirmed that the man was arrested at the port of Maluso town early this month while trying to slip back into Malaysia.
He said the military is checking if the suspect may have been training the Abu Sayyaf militants to make bombs.