SINGAPORE DETAINS SAF SERVICEMAN UNDER ISA

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, July 6 (Bernama) -- Singapore has detained a full-time national
serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) under the Internal Security Act
(ISA) for being self-radicalised.

The home affairs ministry said Muhammad Fadil Abdul Hamid, 20, was
detained for two years under the ISA since last April 20.

In a statement today, the ministry said Muhammad Fadil had begun avidly
surfing the internet in search of jihadist propaganda and videos when he was
studying in a local polytechnic where he eventually did not complete his
studies.

Over time, he became deeply radicalised by the lectures of radical
ideologues such as Anwar al-Awlaki and Sheikh Feiz Muhammad, and became
convinced that it was his religious duty to undertake armed jihad, alongside
fellow militants, and strive for martyrdom, the ministry said.

Subsequently, Muhammad Fadil initiated online communication with Anwar
al-Awlaki and expressed his desire to fight alongside him, and his interest in
travelling to places like Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan to undertake militant
jihad.

The ministry said he had also made online contact with a suspected Al-Qaeda
recruiter who encouraged him to fight in Afghanistan.

To undertake militant jihad overseas, he went online in search of
information on bomb-making, and produced and posted a video glorifying martyrdom
and justifying suicide bombing.

The ministry also announced that two Singaporeans, Muhammad Anwar Jailani,
44, and Muhammad Thahir Shaik Dawood, 27, were placed on Restriction Orders
(RO) for a period of two years, beginning June 23.

Muhammad Anwar was an unaccredited religious teacher who had distributed to
his students, contacts, and the general public, numerous copies of compact discs
containing audio recordings of Anwar al-Awlaki's lectures which called on
Muslims to undertake militant jihad against non-Muslims and other "enemies" of
Islam.

Muhammad Thahir, a small-time businessman, was one of Muhammad Anwar's
students who became radicalised, mainly through his influence.

The ministry said Muhammad Thahir had travelled to Yemen to enrol in an
educational institution run by an associate of Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, and
to seek out Anwar al-Awlaki and other radicals, with a view to participating in
armed jihad overseas, if the opportunity presented itself.

However, he was unsuccessful in his attempts to contact Anwar al-Awlaki and
did not participate in armed jihad, and later withdrew from the Yemeni
educational institution.

The ministry also announced that Jemaah Islamiah (JI) member Ibrahim Mohd
Noor was released on a Suspension Direction under the ISA on June 1.

Ibrahim fled Singapore in December 2001, following the arrests of Singapore
JI members in a security operation.

He was a trained operative who had conducted terrorist reconnaissance
against local establishments in Singapore to prepare for JI's terrorist
operations.

Ibrahim was detained under the ISA in April 2007, following a joint
operation with a regional security agency.
-- BERNAMA


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