Eight Bangladeshis have been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), after they were found to have been planning to return to Bangladesh to carry out terror attacks and establish an Islamic state, while working in Singapore.
They were also found to have been planning to recruit other Bangladeshi nationals working here, and had even raised funds to buy firearms to carry out the attacks, although investigations have not revealed indications of any planned attack here.
This is the third reported case this year of radicalised individuals being dealt with under the ISA, and the second involving the Bangladeshi community.
Ringleader Rahman Mizanur, 31, was an S-Pass holder while the other seven detainees, aged between 26 and 34, held work permits. They were employed in the construction and marine industries, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press release on Tuesday (May 3).
The eight, who were arrested last month, were part of a clandestine group which calls itself the Islamic State of Bangladesh (ISB) set up here in March. The Investigations showed that the ISB members initially wanted to join ISIS as foreign fighters, but abandoned the plan due to its difficulty. Instead, they planned to overthrow the Bangladeshi government by force, and bring it under the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) self-declared caliphate.
A document titled “We Need for Jihad Fight” which identified various Bangladeshi government and military officials as possible targets was seized from Rahman. He also held documents on weapons and bomb making, and a significant amount of radical material relating to ISIS and Al-Qaeda which he had used to recruit new members since January.
According to the MHA, Rahman had said he would launch an attack anywhere if he was instructed by ISIS to do so, but there are no indications of Singapore having been selected as one such target.
The other detainees are Mamun Leakot Ali, 29, Sohag Ibrahim, 27, Miah Rubel, 26, Zzaman Daulat, 34, Islam Shariful, 27, Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul Islam Sowdagar, 30, and Sohel Hawlader Ismail Hawlader, 29.
The monies raised by the group has been seized. Several of the detainees may be liable for prosecution for terrorism financing, the MHA said. At least two more members of the ISB are in Bangladesh, according to the members.
Five other Bangladeshi nationals here were also investigated. While they were not found to be involved in the ISB, they were repatriated for possessing and/or proliferating jihad-related material, or supporting the use of armed violence for a religious cause.
The MHA said the Government takes a serious view of any form of support for terrorism and will deal firmly with anyone who engages in activities “inimical to Singapore’s national security and racial and religious harmony”.
“ISB poses a security concern to Singapore because of its support for ISIS and its readiness to resort to the use of violence overseas…Foreigners should not import their own domestic agenda into Singapore and carry out activities here in pursuit of such an agenda,” it said.
In January, the MHA revealed that 27 Bangladeshi construction workers here were arrested after they were found contemplating waging armed jihad overseas. They were detained in November and December last year. 26 have been repatriated while another remains in prison.
In March, the MHA said that four Singaporeans had been dealt with under the ISA for taking part in violence or intending to do so in armed conflicts overseas.
Source: TODAY Online
