KUALA LUMPUR: The death of Indonesian militant Bahrun Naim has affected the recruitment of Islamic State (IS) terrorist militants in Malaysia as well as the region.
Federal police Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division (E8) principal assistant director Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said Bahrun, a bomb expert, often shared information on the making of improvised explosive device with his followers.
“He gave instructions to militants in the country to launch attacks at several non-Muslim houses of worship and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
“Police managed to foil the planned attack after 26 individuals were arrested in 2017,” he said when met at the 2018 Topcom conference organised by the Health Ministry at UiTM Selayang today.
Ayob said after the death of Bahrun, three of his senior followers, Akel Zainal, Rafi Udin and Zahar Abdullah, were still in Syria.
“Three of them may take the opportunity to become the main recruiter after the death of Bahrun. We are monitoring the situation carefully,” he said.
Foreign media reported that Bahrun, 34, was killed in a US military drone attack in Syria.
Bahrun, who was involved in a Jakarta terrorist attack in 2016 that killed four people, was said to have helped in coordinating the attacks from Raqqa, Syria, using Telegram.