KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia has arrested 13 people believed to have links with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), police said.

In a brief press conference at the federal police headquarters on Wednesday, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the suspects were detained at several locations in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state, during multiple raids on Tuesday. He did not give any more details.

"We are constantly monitoring these kinds of activities. Militancy and terrorism have no place in this country," he said.

The latest arrests bring the number of Malaysians arrested for militant activities since the April to 36.

ISIS-inspired militants in Malaysia had allegedly planned to bomb pubs, discos and a brewery of beer producer Carlsberg in August. They wanted to establish a hardline Islamic caliphate spanning Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, according to information revealed by law enforcement agencies from some of these countries.

Besides Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia also have its nationals who have joined the ISIS - the hardline group which has swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory under its control.

The group has been steadily increasing its footprint in the region.