IS warns Malaysia, Indonesia of attacks over arrest of members

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 25: Islamic State (IS) terror group has threatened Malaysia and Indonesia with new attacks over the arrests of its members in these multi-ethnic but Muslim- majority countries, days after the Indonesian capital was hit by bombings that killed eight people.

In a strongly defiant video posted in Makay language, the Malaysian-Indonesian unit of IS, called the Katibah Nusantara, warned that its numbers would only increase with the arrests of its members.

"If you catch us, we will only increase in number but if you let us be, we will be closer to our goal of bringing back the rule of the Khalifah (caliph). We will never bow down to the democratic system of governance as we will only follow Allah's rules," the video reportedly said according to The Star newspaper.

The video was reportedly posted on an IS website, signifying Katibah's increasing recognition within the terror group. Malaysia Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division head Ayob Khan said the threat and direct challenge to the government reflected Katibah's brazen stance.

"It further proves that IS, especially the Katibah group, views our country as secular, and as such makes the Government and the people as its targets. This is no doubt in retaliation against our security forces' actions against them," he said. He said the counter terrorism division would be more vigilant as attacks could occur at anytime. "Prior to this, we only saw videos posted on Facebook or other social media sites but this particular video is a clear indication that Katibah is among the major foreign factions in IS," said Ayob Khan.

Katibah first came under the radar of intelligence agencies two years ago when it was called Majmu'ah al Arkhabiliy. The warning comes just days after Indonesian capital Jakarta was hit by bombings and gunfights, claimed by IS, that killed eight people and injured dozens other on January 14.

Both Malaysia and Indonesia are Muslim-majority countries, with diverse populations of ethnic Malay, Indians, and Chinese.

PTI