Burma faces a growing danger of attacks by foreign supporters of the Islamic State (IS) recruited from Southeast Asian networks in support of persecuted Rohingya Muslims, Malaysia’s top counter-terrorism official has said.

Burma said on Friday it will take back 2,415 citizens from Bangladesh, only a tiny fraction of the 300,000 people who Bangladesh says are Burmese citizens taking refuge there and should go home.

Malaysian police said on Tuesday they have arrested seven people, including four foreigners, for suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) militant group and for planning attacks in Malaysia and abroad.

Malaysia said on Monday the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Burma was a regional concern and called for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to coordinate humanitarian aid and investigate alleged atrocities committed against them.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s stern rebuke to Burma for a military-led crackdown on Rohingya Muslims was a rarity among Southeast Asian nations, who adhere to a policy of non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.

Malaysia is considering pulling its side out of the Suzuki Cup in protest over Burma's crackdown on ethnic Rohingya Muslims.