Kuala Lumpur, Sep 26 (IANS): Malaysian police said on Thursday that they have arrested 16 terror suspects, including an Indian and some of them were allegedly planning to carry out terror attacks against local politicians.

Ayob Khan Mydin, the Assistant Director of Malaysian police's counter-terrorism division, told state news agency Bernama that the suspects include 12 Indonesians, two Malaysians and an Indian. Some of the suspects are suspected of being linked to the Islamic State (IS).

According to Mydin, the Indian national is linked to the secessionist group Sikhs For Justice. The arrests were carried out in a special operation between August 10 and September 25 in Kuala Lumpur and other cities, Efe news reported.

The police said in a press conference that some of the suspects had established an IS cell in the country and were planning to carry out attacks in Malaysia and Indonesia, including the assassinations of non-Muslim politicians.

Other suspects were arrested for allegedly spreading IS propaganda on social networks, recruiting new members and raising money to fund attacks.

Malaysian security forces have arrested more than 300 suspects in recent years over their alleged links to the IS, while around 100 Malaysians were estimated to have fought in the terror group's ranks in Syria and Iraq.

Malaysia has a population of around 30 million, out of which 61 per cent are Muslims.