27 Bangladeshi Nationals Arrested

All 27 Bangladeshi nationals arrested for terror links worked in the construction industry.

All but one have been repatriated to Bangladesh, with the last set to be repatriated after serving a jail term for attempting to illegally leave Singapore.

Of those arrested, 26 were members of a closed religious study group that supported the armed jihad ideology of terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, said the MHA. The 26 subscribed to extremist beliefs and teachings of radical ideologues like Anwar al-Awlaki, the ministry added, referring to an Al Qaeda-linked extremist teacher who was killed in Yemen in 2011.

The remaining Bangladeshi national was not a member of the group, but was found to be in the process of becoming radicalised and was supportive of extremist preachers, and also possessed jihadi-related material, the MHA said.

"The group members took measures to avoid detection by the authorities. They shared jihadi-related material discreetly among themselves, and held weekly meetings and gatherings where they discussed armed jihad and conflicts that involved Muslims. They also carefully targeted the recruitment of other Bangladeshi nationals to grow their membership," said the ministry in its press release, which listed the names of all 27.

A significant quantity of radical and jihadi-related material including books and videos, as well as footage of children undergoing training in what appeared to be terrorist military camps, were recovered from the possession of the group, said the ministry.

Several members also had a shared document containing graphic images and instruction details on how to conduct “silent killings” using different methods and weapons. For example, a copy of one of the documents, seen by Channel NewsAsia, bore the title “Techniques of Silent Killing” in English, and contained a step-by-step illustrated guide on how to stab a seated man.