Police have arrested members of a terrorist suicide bombing squad, Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai said Tuesday.

He gave no further details at a news conference at which he also announced that four more suspected Islamic militants had been detained.

It was not clear whether the suicide bombers were among the four arrested.

The government has detained a total of more than 70 alleged Islamic militants since the middle of last year, holding them under the Internal Security Act which allows indefinite detention without trial.

Norian said the four men arrested were among eight suspects wanted by police for involvement in the terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiah (JI), which has been blamed for the Bali bomb attack last month.

"We have arrested...leaving only four," he told reporters when questioned on police progress in tracking down the eight.

Asked about the threat of suicide bombers in Southeast Asia following the Bali blast, in which more than 190 people were killed, he said: "In this country, we have arrested a few who are members of a suicide bombing squad.

"They are members of an organisation that is involved in terrorist activities."

A senior security official told AFP that the four were arrested earlier this month in southern Johor state.