Malaysia captures 12 Islamist militants

MALAYSIA: Malaysian police have captured 12 Islamist militants, most of them from Indonesia, who are suspected to have planned terrorist attacks in the region, the Star newspaper said on Tuesday.

The dozen men belonged to Indonesia's Darul Islam movement and were arrested recently after six months of police surveillance in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on Borneo island, the daily said. It did not say when the men had been picked up.

Police had seized firearms and documents from the men, including bomb-making instructions downloaded form the Internet, the paper said. The men, including at least two Malaysians, had been travelling through Sabah when police nabbed them, it added.

"However, it is not immediately known what the group's targets were or when its plans would be executed," the Star said.

Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday, Reuters