Two Malaysians detained at Kuala Lumpur airport for allegedly trying to travel to Syria to join Isis

Two Malaysian nationals were recently detained at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport for allegedly trying to join Islamic State (Isis) in Iraq and Syria. They were deported by Turkey, where authorities arrested them while attempting to travel to Syria on 28 October.

The two suspected IS (Daesh) supporters are aged 29 and 24. They were detained on 30 October by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division officers in Malaysia soon after their arrival in the country, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement on Friday, 4 November.

"One of the suspects is a technician from Johor while the other is a labourer from Sarawak. We believe both of them were recruited by known militant Mohamad Wanndy Mohamad Jedi," the police chief said.

He added that Mohamad Wanndy is believed to have arranged the flight to Turkey for the duo as well as their subsequent trip to Syria.

"The duo tried to fool the authorities by travelling from Butterworth to Bangkok on 23 October. From there, they took a flight to Istanbul, which transited in Abu Dhabi," the Straits Times quoted the police chief as saying. But intelligence sharing between Bukit Aman and their Turkish counterpart made the arrests possible, he added.

Just over two weeks ago, Malaysian authorities arrested 13 people, including women and students, over suspicion of having links with IS. They were also found to be planning to travel to Syria to join the militant group.

Malaysia stepped up security following IS threats targeted at the country and some neighbouring nations. A few months ago, Prime Minister Najib Razak also cautioned the citizens against IS attacks.