Teenager among Six Charged in Malaysia over Terror Plots
Five men and a teenager were charged in a Malaysian court on Wednesday with plotting terror attacks in the country, according to court documents.
The five men are mostly in their 20s or early 30s while the teenager is 16.
Police could not immediately be reached for further information.
It was not clear whether the six were among 12 suspected Islamic militants arrested in late April just before a Southeast Asian summit was held in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
At the time of the arrests in late April, police said they seized 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of ammonium nitrate, a similar amount of potassium nitrate, two litres of kerosene and remote-control devices.
National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said at the time the suspects were targeting "strategic" locations in and around Kuala Lumpur for attacks to be launched on April 25 and April 26.
Those charged Wednesday face a maximum 30 years' imprisonment and fines if found guilty, according to the court documents.
They are expected back in court on June 22, The Star newspaper reported.
In a separate case six men, including an Indonesian suspected weapons expert, were charged in late April with conspiracy to stage terror attacks and plotting to kidnap high-profile figures.
Police say dozens of Malaysians have gone to Syria to join the brutal jihad by the Islamic State group, and have warned of radicals returning to stage attacks on home soil.
Over the past year police have announced a series of arrests of suspects whom they say were IS sympathisers plotting such attacks.
But opposition lawmakers say authorities have shared no details with them about the arrests or the extent of the purported terror threat.
Source: Agence France Presse
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