Police trying to bring woman and four children back from Syria

SUNGAI PETANI: The police are trying to bring home a woman believed to be a member of the Daesh militant group, along with her four children, all of whom are currently believed to be at a United Nations refugee camp in Syria.
Bukit Aman Special Branch Anti-Terrorist Division (E8) principal assistant director Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said that police were made aware of the 30-year-old woman by her family members, after she had contacted her father about two weeks ago.
"This is the first time we received (such information), normally they do not contact (family members), but this time there was contact with the family and the woman's family told us to help bring her and her children back.
"The woman also informed her father that her husband was suspected of being held by the YPG (Kurdish Militia People's Protection Unit) rebels," he told a press conference after delivering a speech in conjunction with a discussion on integrity at the Sultan Abdul Halim Teachers' Education Institute campus, here today.
Ayob Khan said the police would discuss with Wisma Putra and the Home Ministry to find the best way to bring the woman and her children back home safely.
Meanwhile, Ayob Khan said intelligence received by the unit found that 53 Malaysians believed to be involved in Daesh militant group activities were still in Syria.
"They comprise 24 men, 12 women, nine boys and eight girls," he noted.
Asked on the chances of bringing all of them back to Malaysia, he said efforts to do so faced certain risks and constraints, because of unrest in that country.
However, he said the police would discuss the matter with Wisma Putra and the KDN, with priority given to women and children.
Meanwhile, Ayob Khan said the police paid serious attention to the presence of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) coming to Malaysia to take shelter and strategise, or to join local Daesh elements.
"It is clear, that many more FTF are feared to be trying to enter Malaysia, after fleeing from Syria or Iraq," he added. — Bernama