Malaysia deports eight Indonesians for carrying IS logo hinh anh 1Malaysia police on duty (Photo: Sputnik)

Hanoi (VNA) – Eight Indonesians were deported from Malaysia on January 11 after their mobile phones were found to contain the logo of the self-claimed Islamic State (IS), an Indonesian official confirmed.

Muhammad Iqbal, director of citizen protection at Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry, cited investigation results that the deported persons were students of a school in Indonesia's West Sumatra province.

They made trips to Malaysia and Thailand's southern province of Pattani to undertake a study programme.

On January 9, they were blocked from entering Singapore from Malaysia's Johor state as Singaporean immigration officers found the IS logo in a mobile phone belonging to one of the eight.

Malaysian anti-terror police conducted investigation against the eight Indonesians on the next day and concluded that the IS logo was unintentionally saved into the mobile phone through social media, Iqbal said.

He added that Malaysian authorities deported them instantly, and the eight students are now in the custody of Riau provincial police.

Singapore was once targeted by an Indonesian homegrown terror group which planned rocket attacks from Batam. Indonesian police foiled the plans and arrested members of the group in August 2016.-VNA  
VNA