Malaysian officials have revealed that the seven militants arrested last month had plans to attack the Saudi Royals during their month-long tour to Asia. Saudi Arabia's King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived in Malaysia on Feb 26 and is currently in Indonesia. He is also likely to visit Japan, China, and Maldives. During his stay in Malaysia, the King signed a deal to invest $7bn in a Malaysian refining project—one of Saudi Aramco's biggest investments in refining and petrochemicals.
"They (the militants) were planning to attack Arab royalties during their visit to Kuala Lumpur. We got them in the nick of time. Thank God they did not get close," said Malaysia's police chief Khalid Abu Bakar. He further added that the men had links to ISIS and four of them were Yemeni nationals. However, the officials denied revealing any information on the arrested men.
It has been reported that the Saudi Arabia is having a military coalition in Yemen to restore the government and fight against the Houthi rebellion. The arrested men were reportedly planning to plot "a large-scale car or truck bomb attack before traveling to join Isis in Syria."
A report on The Sun Daily stated, "Malaysia has arrested hundreds over the last few years for suspected links to militant groups. A grenade attack on a bar on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in June last year wounded eight people. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack." In Indonesia, the Islamic State group launched multiple attacks in Jan 2016. Following the threats, the Southeast Asian countries have been on high alert.
The 81-year-old king was accompanied by 460 tonnes of cargo for his trip to Indonesia last weel. Well, that includes two Mercedes-Benz S600 sedans and two electric elevators. According to The Jakarta post, the king was accompanied by 1500 officials that include 10 ministers, 25 princes, and at least 100 security personnel. He visited the island country in seven aircraft that comprises of six Boeing airliners and a Hercules military transport plane. His cargos were handled by an Indonesian airfreight team of 572 workers.
