Malaysian police counter-terrorism chief Ayob Khan MydinPitchay said the suspects were arrested in a series of operations from the midJuly 10 to September.

The first case involved a 25-year-old Indonesian palmplantation worker in the state of Sabah in Borneo, who police believe had actedas a facilitator for a family of five that carried out a suicide attack on achurch in Jolo, in the southern Philippines in December 2018.

The suspect had also allegedly channeled funds to the Mautegroup, which seized control of the lakeside town of Marawi in the Philippinesfor five months in 2017, a conflict that killed over 1,100 people.

Police said they also arrested 13 other Indonesians and aMalaysian in separate raids on suspicion of carrying out activities in supportof IS, which included promoting the group's ideology and recruiting new memberson social media, with the aim of launching attacks in their two countries.

Police arrested one Indian national separately for being a member of the SikhsFor Justice group that has been outlawed in India. The suspect has since beendeported.

Malaysia has arrested hundreds of people in the past fewyears for suspected militant links./.VNA