Malaysia says it foiled attack on Saudi king in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian authorities claim to have foiled a plot to attack Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on a tour of Asia last month, with the arrests of seven men including four Yemeni nationals.

Malaysia’s police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said on Tuesday that the seven men arrested in February, who are suspected of links to militant groups including Islamic State, had plotted to attack the Saudi royal in Kuala Lumpur.

Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition against Yemen’s Houthi rebellion.

Police said in an earlier statement that two of the detained men, a Malaysian and an Indonesian, were plotting a large-scale car or truck bomb attack before travelling to join IS in Syria.

King Salman’s visit was the start of a month-long Asian tour taking in Indonesia, China, Japan and the Maldives.

On the second day of the king’s visit, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company announced plans to invest $7bn in a Malaysian refining project.