KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian police said on Sunday that nine suspects, most of who are foreigners, had been arrested in recent operations over suspicion of being involved in terrorism.
Of the nine, six were Egyptian nationals, one was Tunisian and the other two were Malaysians, according to a statement by Malaysian police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun.
The suspects were arrested between Feb. 2 and Feb. 7 in the states of Selangor, Sarawak and the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. They are aged between 20 to 54, and were mostly acting as facilitators in providing shelter, employment and false documents for other foreign terrorists fighters in Malaysia.
At least one had provided shelter to a high ranking al-Qaida militant who had previously been jailed by Egyptian authorities.
"Our investigations show that these foreign terrorist fighters are attempting to make Malaysia a safe haven for transit and as a logistical base," he said.
"They are entering Malaysia with fake travel documents, marriage to locals to get a spouse visa, posing as students or opening businesses here."
Fuzi added that the country's police had received intelligence from several other countries leading to the arrests of the suspects.
He also said the entry of foreign terrorists into Malaysia should be taken seriously, especially after the defeat of Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
"These individuals could turn Malaysia into a base of operations for conducting attacks in other countries or for launching attacks in Malaysia itself," he said.
