Malaysia detains 3 militants heading to Syria via Turkey

KUALA LUMPUR - Associated Press

Supporters of Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front hold placards calling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a "terrorist" and denouncing Arab states that have joined anti-ISIL campaign, as they demonstrate in the northern city of Alepppo on Sept. 24, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ZEIN AL RIFAI

Malaysian police say they have detained three Muslim men suspected of wanting to go to Syria to join a militant Islamic State group.

The head of the national police counter-terrorism unit, Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, said Sept. 26 that the three were detained Sept. 25 at the Kuala Lumpur international airport while waiting for a flight to Turkey en route to Syria.

He says the men - an architect and a technician, both aged 26, and a 46-year-old shopkeeper- were believed to be recruited through Facebook and other social media sites and were in contact with Malaysians fighting in Syria.

Ayob Khan says the men were held under the Security Offenses Act, which allows police to hold suspects for up to 28 days before they must be brought to court.