Terrorist who attacked Ulu Tiram police station untrained, says expert
Published on: Saturday, May 18, 2024
By:
FMT, Faisal Asyraf
Two policemen were killed when a masked man attacked the Ulu Tiram police station on Friday morning. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: The man who attacked the Ulu Tiram police station in Johor Bahru on Friday morning was untrained and lacked the experience to carry out a massive strike, opined a security expert.
The masked man attacked the police station armed with a gun and a parang, killing two policemen and injuring another before being shot dead at the scene.
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Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said the man is believed to have been a member of the extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
Wan Shawaluddin Wan Hassan from Universiti Malaysia Sabah said the man could have inflicted more harm had he received training.
“If it’s true that he was recruited by JI, he was not trained. If he was, the number of casualties would have been higher,” he told FMT.
“There is a possibility that what happened was an isolated case carried out by a young man who was untrained, lacked experience, and was obsessed with extremism.
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“Before they were deradicalised, JI members received training in Afghanistan on manufacturing explosives and handling firearms.”
Wan Shawaluddin said the police, particularly the Special Branch, would have already identified the motive behind the attack and other possible targets based on previous incidents.
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“Based on JI’s past attacks like the 2002 Bali bombing, its objective was to launch an attack in places and groups of people they believed to have affiliation with the US,” he said.
The Bali bombing killed more than 200 people. More bombings targeted the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta in 2009.
JI’s members reportedly received military training in Afghanistan during the 1990s, and the group is alleged to have ties with Al-Qaeda.
Shawaluddin said Malaysian police are capable of containing terrorism threats, but it is important for the public to assist authorities by providing them with information regarding suspicious activities in their areas.
Following the incident, police detained five family members of the suspect. They also detained two students who are said to be linked to the incident. Police said they will seek a remand order for all seven individuals.
Police said the two policemen killed in the attack – constables Ahmad Azza Fahmi Azhar and Syafiq Ahmad Said – joined the force less than two years ago.
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