Malaysian Police has announced last Wednesday that they are looking for five terror suspects believed to be hiding in the Philippines.
Malaysian Police identified that a university lecturer and four others allegedly involved in terrorist activities and are now hiding in the Philippines particularly in Mindanao.
One of the suspects is Mahmud Ahmad, a 36-year-old Islamic studies lecturer from Universiti Malaya. The University said on a statement that it has vowed full cooperation with the police.
Three of the suspects are believed to engage in recruiting and sending fighters for the jihadist militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) which is engaged in armed conflict and terror activities in Iraq and Syria.
Malaysian police added that two of the suspects have now joined the Abu Sayyaf Group operating in certain areas in Mindanao.
The announcement came after Malaysian authorities expressed concern of radicalization among young Muslims to fight in areas with armed conflict particularly Syria and Iraq.
Reports indicate that the increase of jihadist militant activities in Iraq and Syria can usher the reactivation or creation of militant and terror cells in the Muslim-majority region of South East Asia and pose a threat to the region’s peace and security.
