Two members of extremist Middle Eastern movement Islamic State, hailing from Malaysia, carried out suicide bombing attacks on separate targets in Syria and Iraq, resulting in the deaths of 33 people.
According to the New Straits Times Online, the two Malaysians who committed the acts of terror were Mohd Amirul Ahmad Rahim of Terengganu, who attacked a target in Raqqa, Syria; and Mohamad Syazwan Mohd Salim, who bombed a police training centre in Tikrit, some 160km north of Baghdad, Iraq.
The suicide bomb attack in Iraq was carried out on December 26, while the Syrian attack was carried out on December 29.
The attacks highlight a new development in how Malaysian ISIS recruits are utilised in the terror movement’s operations in the Middle East. Most Malaysians who join ISIS are usually not deployed as front-line fighters.
ISIS operatives from Malaysia and India would usually be tasked with support operations, such as cooking and cleaning for the movement’s combatants.
Both Mohd Amirul and Syazwan left the country to join ISIS cells in the Middle East at the tail end of 2014, which points to a possible uptick in terror attacks being carried out by Malaysian nationals this year, after they have been trained in combat and sabotage tactics.
To date, six Malaysians have been confirmed as having committed suicide bombing attacks in Islamic State’s name. Another 11 Malaysian ISIS members have died as a result of injuries sustained in combat.
