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Zahid: Seven prison guards influenced by IS detainees in M'sia

Seven prison guards are undergoing a "de-radicalisation" programme in Malaysia after they were influenced by suspected Islamic State militants they were guarding, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at a post-Ramadan celebration in Sarawak today.

He said the programme involved Islamic scholars, psychologists and officials from the country's Islamic Affairs Department.

Ahmad Zahid said they are taking measures to ensure that prison guards watching over detained suspected Islamic State militants would not be influenced by the extremist ideology.

"We have isolated these detainees whom we call ideological criminals... so other prisoners are not influenced," Ahmad Zahid said.

Ahmad said a former prison for political detainees is being refurbished to be used to hold all detained Islamic State suspects.

He said there are currently 261 Islamic State detainees in Malaysia, adding that police have identified 63 Malaysians fighting with Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

Last month, eight people were injured in a grenade attack on a bar in Petaling Jaya just outside Kuala Lumpur in the first confirmed Islamic State-related attack in Malaysia.

- dpa

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