Singapore authorities said they detained two men who allegedly tried to join Islamic militant networks overseas, hoping to wage armed jihad in places such as Afghanistan and Chechnya. Muhammad Zamri Abdullah and Maksham Mohd Shah, both 26, were detained Dec. 5 under the Internal Security Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement late Thursday. Maksham is also accused of attempting to make bombs, the ministry said.Their associate, Mohammad Taufik Andjah Asmara, 26, was given a restriction order, the ministry said. He was originally involved in their activities but later distanced himself from the pair, the statement said. Under such orders, suspects are released but placed under restrictions such as limits on traveling outside the country. All three men are Singapore citizens.
"Zamri became self-radicalized through radical propaganda in publications, videos and the Internet," the ministry said. He became radicalized to the extent that he had gone overseas to try to join a 'mujahideen network,' so that he could wage armed jihad overseas and die a martyr.
In early 2006, Zamri, who falsely claimed to be the Singapore representative of a foreign radical group, collected money from the other two men that he planned to send to another foreign radical group, the ministry said. Zamri and Maksham then traveled to an unnamed country in November 2006, hoping to take an oath of allegiance with leaders of radical and militant groups so they could join foreign mujahideen networks.
Zamri believed they would receive training and fight in places such as Afghanistan, Palestine and Chechnya, the statement said. But the pair failed when they were unable to meet with the leaders.
Maksham experimented with building homemade bombs after being inspired by news footage that showed Molotov cocktails being used in attacks, the statement said. He tried making explosive devices using material from sparklers.
The ministry also said that five detained members of the regional terror organization Jemaah Islamiyah, which has links to al-Qaida, were released between Dec. 20 and Jan. 5. "The five men had cooperated in investigations and responded positively to rehabilitation, including religious counseling," the statement said. Another man, detained for involvement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a group of separatist rebels in the southern Philippines, was also released Jan. 5, the statement said. The ministry did not say why the information in the statement was only now being released.