Malaysian police have arrested 12 members of the Indonesian militant group Darul Islam who had been planning attacks on several neighbouring countries, a report said today.

The Star said the group, mostly Indonesians but including at least two Malaysians, were nabbed off the eastern coast of Sabah after six months of police surveillance.

"I believe this is a good sign and an important step to fight terrorism," Indonesia Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told reporters at a meeting here of the 114-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

"We certainly welcome this and congratulate the Malaysian police," he said. "This will weaken terrorist groups."

Wirayuda said that for some time the militants had been tracked as they moved from Indonesia to Sabah on Borneo island, and the southern Philippines.

"Including several months ago police thwarted smuggling of explosives from Tawau (on Sabah) to parts of Indonesia believed to have been for terrorism purposes," he said.

The Star said Malaysian police who busted the group seized several firearms and documents including bomb-making instructions downloaded from the Internet. There was no indication of where and when the attacks were being planned.

Malaysian authorities learned that the militants would be stopping over in Malaysia on their way to neighbouring countries, the report said. Sabah's east coast lies near to the Philippines.

"It was hard work. The Malaysian police had been tracking their movements over the last six months. Then they moved in to smash the militant group before it could carry out its plans," the source said.

The Star said the arrests represented one of the biggest successes in Malaysia's efforts to combat terrorism.

One of the Malaysians arrested was a religious school teacher who gained a degree at a Syrian university while the other was a graduate of a university in Penang.

It said the pair were charged with organising accommodation and transport for the Indonesian militants.

Link to al-Qaeda?

Police are investigating if Darul Islam - which is seeking to turn Indonesia into an Islamic state - has links with the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group based in the southern Philippines, or with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, The Star said.

Sabah's east coast is seen as a hot spot for militant activity. The diving island of Sipadan was hit in 2000 when 21 people including 12 foreigners were abducted by Abu Sayyaf rebels.

The United States and Australia have warned tourists not to travel to the coast, saying that tourist destinations there are not safe and that terrorists continue to plan kidnappings.

Darul Islam (DI) led separate rebellions in West Java, South Sulawesi, and Aceh in the 1950s. It claimed to be an alternative government until 1962, when its leaders were captured or killed.

According to the International Crisis Group, the movement has produced splinter groups and offshoots over the last 55 years ranging from the extremist Jemaah Islamiah network to non-violent religious groups.

"Every time the older generation seems on the verge of passing into irrelevance, a new generation of young militants, inspired by DI's history and the mystique of an Islamic state, emerges to give the movement a new lease on life," the ICG said.