Malaysian police mount hunt for five suspected militants, including a lecturer

From top left: Jeknal, Joraimee and Mahmud. Bottom left: Amin and Najib -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
From top left: Jeknal, Joraimee and Mahmud. Bottom left: Amin and Najib -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Police are on the hunt for five men believed to be members of a local militant group linked with the Islamic State (IS), an Al-Qaeda breakaway group that declared a caliphate on Sunday.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said police believe the suspects are hiding in southern Philippines.

"Three of them were responsible for recruiting and sending militants to Syria and Iraq, part of the ISIL struggle.

"Two of them are members of Darul Islam Sabah, who have joined the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group," Mr Khalid said in a statement on Wednesday.

ISIL, or the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, is a name adopted earlier by the IS which subsequently dropped ISIL to call itself the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

The five suspected militants are Dr Mahmud Ahmad, Mohd Najib Husen, Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee, Mohd Amin Baco and Jeknal Adil.

Dr Mahmud Ahmad, 36, is a senior lecturer at the prestigious Universiti Malaya's Department of Akidah and Islamic Thought, The Malaysian Insider website reported.

The IGP urged anyone with information to contact the nearest police station.

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