Nightclub blast first attack by ISIS in Malaysia: Police

Kuala Lumpur, July 4: Malaysian police today blamed Islamic State for the grenade blast at a nightspot in a suburb near here last week, confirming that it was the first ever successful attack by the dreaded terror outfit in the Muslim majority country.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said the attack on the Movida nightclub in Puchong, a town outside Kuala Lumpur, in which eight people were injured was carried out by locals who were directly instructed by ISIS member Muhamad Wanndy Mohamad Jedi from Syria.

"Since the attack on June 28 to July 1, we have arrested 15 people, including the two men who threw the hand grenade," he said. Two of the 15 arrested suspects were policemen, he said. The arrested persons were aged between 19 and 52.

Khalid said the main perpetrators of the attack were arrested in Port Klang on July 1 and the suspects had worked in a factory there, according to media reports.

Police also seized multiple sharp weapons, balaclavas, as well as ISIS flags and ideology materials during their operation, media reported.

The explosion took place in the early hours of Tuesday when some patrons in the restaurant were watching a Euro 2016 football match.

Police had previously ruled out terrorism as the motive for the attack, saying a more likely motive appeared to be business rivalry or a targeted attack on someone in the bar. But doubts were raised over the motive after a Facebook page linked to the militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

PTI