Malaysia Arrests 12, Foils Violent Plot Ahead Of Summit

Malaysian police said Sunday that 12 suspects connected to Daesh have been arrested ahead of the 26th ASEAN summit, foiling a plot to attack government buildings in the Kuala Lumpur area.



Khalid Abu Bakar, national police inspector-general, said in a statement that the plot was meant as an attack on the interests of "secular Islamic countries," and urged by a Daesh leader in Syria.



The targets included "strategic and important" government buildings, the Malaysian Insider "ed Khalid as saying.



"The 12 were arrested in the Hulu Langat area, in Cheras in Kuala Lumpur, and in Selangor yesterday and today," he added.



The planned attacks were also allegedly a form of retaliation for the recent capture of suspected Daesh supporters.



Police said they had seized bomb-making materials and a Daesh flag from the suspects.



Leaders of various Southeast Asian countries gathered in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday for the 26th ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting before the two-day summit.



Malaysia is hosting this year's summit after assuming the ASEAN chairmanship from Myanmar in January.



Malaysian police have detained more than 100 suspected supporters of Daesh to date.



Earlier this month, the country passed a controversial anti-terrorism bill, in a bid to contain Daesh and other terrorism-related ideologies. 



The Prevention of Terrorism Act includes a clause that reintroduces detention without trial, three years after it was revoked. - Kuala Lumpur