KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian authorities had detained 19 suspects for terror-related activities, including eight Abu Sayyaf militants, the Malaysian police said on Tuesday.
The suspects, 11 foreigners and eight Malaysians, were arrested in a series of counter-terrorism operations in several Malaysian places between July 4 and Aug. 30, newly-appointed Malaysian police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said in a statement.
Of the eight Abu Sayyaf members, Fuzi said the 25-year-old ringleader, who is responsible for six kidnappings and murdering a hostage in the Philippines, managed to sneak from the Philippines into the bordering Sabah state and came to Kuala Lumpur in 2015.
The police believed after making contact with some Malaysian militants, the suspects tried to carry out attacks during the closing ceremony of the Southeast Asian Games and during the Malaysian National Day celebrations.
