Security forces on high alert over possible ‘attack’ by Sulu gunmen in Sabah

Malaysian security forces are on high alert amid talk of an impending “attack” by Sulu gunmen in Sabah. 
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said security forces were geared up to handle any situation.

“At the same time, Sabahans should disregard rumours that are being spread to cause fear,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

Jalaluddin said the situation around Sabah, particularly within the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone), was peaceful and under control.

The statement came in the wake of a purported dispatch to security personnel in Sabah's east coast that is being circulated on the Internet WhatsApp Messenger.

The so-called dispatch had notified security personnel to be on high alert following reports that at least two groups of Sulu gunmen were preparing to cross into Sabah.

Another widely circulated WhatsApp message stated that 17,000 Sulu gunmen were already in Sabah and were preparing to “strike.”