Recast: Eight radicalized Bangladeshi nationals detained in Singapore: MHA

Eight radicalized male Bangladeshi nationals were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), said Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday.

The eight were members of a clandestine group called "Islamic State in Bangladesh"(ISB) set up by Rahman Mizanur in March this year, and they were planning attacks in Bangladesh, said MHA in the press release.

Rahman Mizanur was an S-Pass holder while the other seven were Work Permit holders. They were all employed in the local construction and marine industries.

MHA said the ISB members had intended to join the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as foreign fighters. However, as they felt that it would be difficult for them to make their way to Syria, they focused their plans instead on returning to Bangladesh to overthrow the government through the use of force, establish an Islamic state in Bangladesh and bring it under ISIS' self-declared caliphate.

Investigations showed that ISB had identified several possible attack targets in Bangladesh. A document titled "We Need for Jihad Fight" was recovered from Rahman Mizanur, which contained a list of Bangladeshi government and military officials who could be targeted for attack, said MHA.

Rahman Mizanur also possessed documents on weapons and bomb making, as well as a significant amount of ISIS and Al-Qaeda radical material which he used to recruit ISB members in Singapore from January 2016.

The ISB members planned to recruit other Bangladeshi nationals working in Singapore to grow the group. The group had also raised monies to purchase firearms to carry out their planned terror attacks in Bangladesh. The money has since been seized, according to the release.

MHA said ISB poses a security concern to Singapore because of its support for ISIS and its readiness to resort to the use of violence overseas. The detained ISB members are still under investigation for their activities in Singapore.

Rahman Mizanur has said he would carry out an attack anywhere if he was instructed by ISIS to do so, though there are no specific indications that Singapore had as yet been selected as a target. Several of those detained may be liable for prosecution for terrorism financing.

Besides the eight detained, MHA also indicated that another five Bangladeshi workers in Singapore were investigated under the ISA.

While investigations showed that they were not involved in ISB but nevertheless possessed and/or proliferated jihadi-related materials, or supported the use of armed violence in pursuit of a religious cause. They have been repatriated to Bangladesh, said MHA.

This is not the first time Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested for terror-related activities in Singapore. 27 male Bangladeshis who were planning to take part in extremist activities in other countries were arrested in January this year. Enditem