ISIS linked to recent Malaysia grenade attack: Police

Malaysian police said Monday a recent hand grenade attack on a restaurant was linked to the ISIS group, after initially saying the incident was not terror-related.

"There were elements of IS involvement in the attack," national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters Monday.

Eight people were injured when a hand grenade was thrown at a restaurant in Malaysia's central Selangor state on June 28, in an assault police initially described as related to a business rivalry or as a revenge attack.

Two Malaysian men have now been arrested in connection with the incident, while two more suspects were on the run.

"We found out that the two of them received instructions from one of our own citizens in Syria... to conduct attacks in Malaysia," Khalid said.

Thirteen other Malaysians, including two "low-level policemen", have also been arrested over suspicions of terrorism-related activities unrelated to the Selangor incident.

Malaysia practises a moderate brand of Islam and has not seen any notable terror attacks in recent years.

But concern has risen in the multi-faith nation, with authorities saying scores of Malaysians had gone to join ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

The country's political opposition says the government shrouds its anti-terror fight in secrecy, making it difficult to gauge the actual threat level.

Malaysian police have regularly announced ISIS-related arrests but typically offer few details.

Four suspected jihadists were arrested in January, and in April last year 17 people were arrested on suspicion of plotting terror attacks in Kuala Lumpur.

In 2014, police said they had foiled an ISIS-inspired plot to bomb pubs, discos and a Malaysian brewery of Danish beer producer Carlsberg, arresting more than a dozen people.

Newsletter

These images show the Sun’s surface in greater detail than ever before

On Wednesday, astronomers released what they said were the most detailed images ever taken of the surface of our sun. As...

Magnitude 7.7 quake hits between Cuba and Jamaica, but no injuries

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and eastern Cuba on Tuesday, shaking a v...

US House passes bill on sanctions against Chinese officials for meddling in Dalai Lama’s succession

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that authorises financial and travel sanctions against Chinese officia...

Squid Brains Are Nearly as Complex as Dog Brains, Researchers Claim

We all know that cephalopods are wicked smart, and their complex nerve systems go some way to explain their aptitudes. N...

Four Japanese evacuees from Wuhan taken to hospital with fevers

Japanese officials say four evacuees on a flight from the Chinese city of Wuhan have a cough and fever. Tokyo Metropolit...

US military recovers remains from Afghanistan plane crash

The United States on Tuesday recovered the remains of two personnel from a US military aircraft that crashed in Afghanis...