This is the second batch of arrests this year.

The 10 suspects were arrested in three separate raids between Jan 25 and Feb 6, Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said in a statement today.

Among the suspects is a 27-year-old Filipino believed to be a senior leader of the Abu Sayyaf, and another Filipino, 32, believed to have arranged passage of foreign nationals to the southern Philippines to join the Islamic State (IS).

“Preliminary information gleaned from the 10 suspects revealed an attempt by the Abu Sayyaf group to establish a cell in Sabah,” Fuzi said.

He added that Abu Sayyaf had intended to bring in IS fighters from Southeast Asia to the southern Philippines for military training.

“The same cell members would then be used to launch attacks on Sabah in the future,” he said.

Malaysia has arrested hundreds of people over the past few years for suspected links to militant groups.

A grenade attack on a bar on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in June 2016 wounded eight people. IS had claimed responsibility for the attack.