Malaysian police foil terror attack in India: official

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian police have foiled a plot to attack foreign missions in two Indian cities and arrested a South Asian terror suspect, a senior security official said Thursday.

The arrest comes just days after police launched an investigation into whether Al-Qaeda-linked Somali rebels were seeking to set up a base in the Southeast Asian country after a suspected insurgent was arrested.

Police deputy inspector general Bakri Zinin said the South Asian man was arrested on May 14 by the anti-terrorism unit just outside the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Police had kept the suspect under surveillance since December last year, he said.

"It (police monitoring) revealed that the suspect was involved in a plan to attack foreign consulates in Chennai and Bangalore, India," he said.

Bakri said Indian security forces were informed of the impending terror attack and they succeeded in arresting three suspects in India on April 29.

Last week police detained a 34-year-old Somali man in Kuala Lumpur who was wanted by Interpol for alleged links to Shebab rebels blamed for a string of violent attacks in East Africa.

Earlier, Malaysia arrested 11 people suspected to be involved in Islamic militant activities under the guise of humanitarian work. Bakri said the latest arrest was not related to the other two cases.

Muslim-majority Malaysia practises moderate Islam and has not seen any notable terror attacks in recent memory. But it has been home to several suspected key figures in militant Islamic groups, such as the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah blamed for the deadly 2002 Bali bombings.

Malaysian police are investigating possible terrorism in the March 8 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 but have so far given no indication that they have solid leads.