MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Malaysian authorities have arrested 130 returnees from Syria over suspected links to Daesh (IS/ISIL) terrorist group, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Saturday.
"We caught 130 people who returned here from Syria. There were bomb-making experts. I have asked the Chief Justice to set up a special court, which could even convene at night [to handle the cases]," Razak was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times newspaper.
Indonesia and Malaysia, the two most-populated Muslim-majority countries of the region, are the homeland of the largest percentage of Daesh fighters originating from Southeast Asia.
Daesh, also known as ISIL/the Islamic State, is a militant group which took over large areas of Syria and Iraq in 2014. It is outlawed in many countries including Russia. The group gained notoriety for its human rights atrocities, and has offshoots in many countries.
