Police say the lone gunman who attacked early this morning was a member of the Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings that left 200 dead.
Kuala Lumpur () – The terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which remained hidden for decades, has struck again. This time the Al Qaeda-linked group, which had recently carried out fewer operations than in the early 2000s, targeted a police station in Johor, Malaysia’s southernmost state.
In the attack this morning, two police officers who were guarding the station died and a third was injured.
According to police chief M. Kumar, the attacker – who was wearing a mask and dark clothing – broke in brandishing a machete. The two dead police officers and the other injured were allegedly attacked by the same suspect, who was killed at the scene. Constable Ahmad Azza Fahmi Azhar was wounded in the neck and head and Constable Muhamad Syafiq Ahmad Said was hit by a projectile.
In a subsequent press conference, Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain explained that five members of the suspect’s family, aged between 19 and 62, had been detained as part of the investigation.
Razarudin also said that the police have identified more than 20 Jemaah Islamiyah members currently operating in Johor State. The suspect – in his 30s – had received training before attacking the police station, although he had no criminal record.
JI members are alleged to have received military training in Afghanistan in the 1990s and the group has ties to Al-Qaeda. Some JI members have traveled to conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Syria and the southern Philippines to join local terrorist groups.
In 2009 JI terrorists carried out bomb attacks on the Ritz-Carlton and Marriot hotels in Jakarta, killing eight people and wounding 50 others. Two suspected Malaysian JI terrorists – Mohammad bin Lep and Mohammed bin Amin – declared themselves guilty of murder for the 2002 Bali attacks and have been held in the US military prison at Guantánamo for 17 years.
Between 2000 and 2009 the JI and its secessionist groups carried out several mass casualty actions in Indonesia using suicide bombers, car bombs and small arms against Christian churches and foreign targets such as embassies, hotels and entertainment venues.
The US State Department listed the JI as a foreign terrorist organization in October 2002. It is believed to have around 6,000 militants and operates mainly in Indonesia.
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