`


THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH
read:
MALAYSIA Tanah Tumpah Darahku

LOVE MALAYSIA!!!


 


Friday, October 3, 2014

More Malay youths may join ISIS after U.S. launches airstrikes in Syria

More Malay youths may join ISIS after U.S. launches airstrikes in Syria
More Malaysian sympathisers of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) may feel compelled to join the movement now that it is under attack by Western countries such as the United States, The Star Online reported.
Professor Mohd Kamarulnizam Abdullah, a terrorism expert attached to Universiti Utara Malaysia, told the paper that “many more” Malaysians were likely to join the fight as the US-led airstrikes on Isis militants in Syria could aggravate anti-Western sentiments.
“The airstrikes have the opposite effect here... making them (the sympathisers) hate the US and its allies even more.
“Many more will be attracted to want to go to Syria as a result,” Kamarulnizam was quoted as saying.
Kamarulnizam, who is director of the UUM Institute for Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, told The Star that Isis was an “outlet” for Malaysians who had previously supported groups such as the Jemaah Islamiah (JI).
“After JI was crippled, there was no outlet for them and then Isis came into the picture, something they had long waited for,” he said.
He also warned of “second line” supporters, “people who do not plan to go to Syria but who are likely to help by sending money and other forms of support to the militants.
“We don’t really know their numbers,” he told The Star.
The US military recently launched air raids against the Isis group in Syria, with dozens of bombing runs flown by American and Arab aircraft.
According to a report by AFP, the raids have struck Isis-controlled oil refineries, tanks, artillery, buildings and other targets, even as the militants continued to gain ground in some areas, including near a contested town near the Turkish border where Kurdish forces have been pushed back.
Officials have detected scores of Malaysian citizens fighting for Isis in Syria.
The latest arrest saw three jihadists picked up by Bukit Aman at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) before boarding a flight to Turkey, where they would have made their way to Syria to join Isis.
Meanwhile, according to The Star, a fifth Malaysian has been reported killed in Syria.
Afiq Heusen Rahizat, 25, from Kluang, entered Syria on April 6 together with his brother, Aqif Heusen, who is believed to be still in Syria.
Last week, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (Ipac) warned that 22 Malaysians currently fighting in Syria had joined up with militants from Indonesia to form their own military unit, the "Katibah Nusantara Lid Daulah Islamiyyah" (Malay archipelago unit for the Islamic State).
The new unit was expected to facilitate the recruitment of Indonesians who could not communicate in English or Arabic.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has hit out at the government, saying that the Isis threat was much closer to home than the government was willing to admit.
"Every day, more and more Muslims, in Europe and Asia, are leaving to join Isis,” he said in a blog post dated September 29.
He warned of a possibility that rebels from neighbouring countries would launch an attack on Malaysia on the pretext of forming an Islamic nation.
"This idea of establishing an Islamic country is interesting, especially in the minds of Muslim youths everywhere as many are disappointed that there is no such establishment around that can be deemed the saviour of the religion, the believers and the country," he said.
On September 14, former PAS member Lotfi Ariffin died in Syria from injuries suffered while fighting alongside Isis forces.
Lotfi had reportedly been with a group of Malaysian Isis fighters when they were caught in an ambush by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
And last month, The Malaysian Insider reported that Malaysian women are believed to have joined Isis forces to offer what is called “Jihad al-Nikah” or “conjugal jihad”.
Countries such as Australia have raised their terror alert levels to “high”, citing an increased likelihood of a terrorist attack at home, while Malaysia last week put out a red alert in Sabah on news that militant group Abu Sayyaf had declared its support for the Isis movement in Syria. –TMI

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.