KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian police said on Saturday seven terror suspects had been arrested in recent operations for plotting attacks in Malaysia.

A Philippine national was arrested on March 15 in Malaysia's Sabah state. The 31-year-old-man was a member of Abu Sayyaf Group in the southern Philippines and had link with Mahmud Bin Ahmad, a Malaysian who joined the Islamic State (IS), according to Mohamad Fuzi Bin Harun, Malaysia's police chief.

The suspect was wanted by the Philippine authorities and was an improvised explosive device expert. He was believed to be planning attacks in Sabah and making it a safe haven for the terrorists in the neighboring Philippines, Fuzi said in a statement.

Meanwhile, six Malaysians were arrested by police counter-terrorism force in the southern state of Johor since late February in several operations. They were from a local cell of IS and were believed to have been involved in plotting attacks on worship places as well as kidnapping and killing police personnel, Fuzi added.