Malaysia’s confirmation of the death of Muhammad Wanndy bin Muhammad Jedi is expected to strengthen the disruption of several terrorist plots on Malaysia by the self-styled Islamic State (IS). While the radicalisation and recruitment of IS members are due to many factors, one key driver has been the presence of recruiters online. Until his death, Wanndy had been a prominent recruiter of support for his threats against the country.

Wanndy’s death indirectly capped the Malaysian Branch’s success in disrupting several terrorist plots by IS. It has arrested more than 250 IS members and supporters in Malaysia over the past five years, notably since the growing prominence of IS in the Syria conflict.

… Nur Azlin Mohamed Yasin is an Associate Research Fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), a unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.