Malaysia Hunting for 63 Suspected ISIS Recruits

The Straits Times

02 May 2015

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian police have identified a further 63 people believed to be recruits of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, following the arrest of 12 suspected members, the New Straits Times reported yesterday.

Police are now hunting for the 63 suspects, the paper quoted Special Branch counter-terrorism division director Ayub Khan Mydin Pitchay as saying.

He said the police had estimated that more than 80 Malaysians had joined ISIS in Syria.

He told reporters that seven civil servants were among the 63 identified. And of the 63, nine were women.

… Calling this worrying, Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna, head of policy studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told The Straits Times: “My concern is twofold: First, ISIS seems to be succeeding in attracting relatively qualified people and, second, such educated people are buying into ISIS’ religiously legitimated vision enough to join.”

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