A ruling party lawmaker said Monday that South Korean authorities have detained five members of the militant group Islamic State after they were caught trying to smuggle a key bomb-making ingredient out of the country.

Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of the Saenuri Party said in a radio interview that they were held here as they tried to smuggle ammonium nitrate which cannot be easily obtained in their home country, Lebanon.

“Our authorities blocked them from taking ammonium nitrate to their country,” Lee said in the interview. “They are still in Korea, and our authorities are taking care of them before deporting them soon.”

The lawmaker said that Korea should prepare against possible terrorist attacks.

“Korea is now one of the top-tier economies in the world and it is also sending peacekeeping forces abroad,” he said. “So we never know whether we will become the target of terrorists.”

He added that the National Assembly should pass the antiterrorism act to more effectively deal with possible terrorist attacks.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)