Malaysian police say they have detained another three men, including two civil servants, suspected of being linked to the militant Islamic State group. The detentions bring the number of people held for suspected militant links to 43 this year.
National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar says the three were detained Nov. 27-28 in operations in Kuala Lumpur and in northern Kedah state.
Khalid said today that a 36-year-old suspect had fought in Syria for a few months before returning to Malaysia in April, while the two civil servants had allegedly channeled funds to Malaysians heading to Syria to join the Islamic State terror group.
Prime Minister Najib Razak recently said the government will introduce a new anti-terrorism law next year to counter the spread of militancy.
