KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia has the threat posed by suicide bombers and other terrorists under control, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said today.

"It would be a cause of concern if we did not know where they are, but we know where they are," he told reporters when asked to comment on a police announcement this week of the arrest of a suicide bombing squad.

Mahathir said police had received information about a suicide squad from some of the more than 70 alleged Islamic militants already detained here since the middle of last year.

"These are misguided people. They feel that through democracy they cannot gain power in this country so they went to Afghanistan and Pakistan to learn how to use force to take over the government.