(AFP) A gang suspected of killings, bombings and bank robberies in the name of "holy war" has been arrested and guns and bomb-making equipment seized, the police chief said today.

Norian Mai said police had arrested nine men and were looking for more suspects. They were investigating possible links to Islamic militants in other countries.

The police chief said several gang members had previously fought in Afghanistan and in Ambon island, Indonesia "in the name of jihad".

The gang's activities arose from "certain ideologies as a result of influence from groups that organise jihad overseas" and the intention was "to fight for a purist (Islamic) society," he told a press conference.

Norian said the group was suspected of involvement in nine crimes in the past one to two years, including the bombing of a church, an Indian temple and a video centre and an attack on a police station.

The other cases involved the murder of a local politician, attempted murder including the shooting of two ethnic Indians and armed robbery.

"The motive behind these activities is militant in nature and has jihad (holy war) elements," Norian said.

Reign of terror

The gang's reign of terror was halted by a middle-aged security guard, who turned his shotgun on its members during a botched bank robbery in a Kuala Lumpur suburb last month.

He killed one man and wounded two others, who later led police to track down other gang members and the recovery of a large cache of arms.

Asked if the group aimed to topple the government, Norian said: "Not directly, not at this stage. I believe this is still at the preliminary stage."

The police chief said weapons, including an M-16 rifle, several pistols, ammunition and materials to make explosives had been recovered but gave no further details.

He said the gang was suspected of involvement in the murder of doctor and Kedah state assembly member Joe Fernandez, who was gunned down in his car last November while waiting at traffic lights.

The Sun newspaper said cash from some of the armed robberies was thought to have been smuggled out of Malaysia to fund overseas "jihad" movements.

Norian said he could not confirm this as investigations were ongoing.

Second time

The Indonesian island of Ambon has been torn by conflict between Muslims and Christians since January 1999. Thousands have died.

It was the second time in less than a year that an extremist Islamic group has been uncovered in Malaysia.

But the police chief said the gang was not linked to the Al-Ma'unah Islamic sect nor to opposition party activists held under a controversial security law.

Al-Ma'unah members sparked a major security scare last July when they raided two army outposts and seized more than 100 firearms.

Nineteen of them are on trial for treason and could face the gallows if convicted. Ten pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were jailed for 10 years each.

Police have not established the identity of the leader of the "jihad gang". Norian said several of the nine would be charged in court soon.

The police chief presented a cash reward to the bank security guard and praised his courage but asked the media not to identify him. He gave no details of the nine detainees.

According to the Malay Mail , four of those involved in the bank robbery were graduates in Islamic studies from universities in Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey.