S'pore looks into extremists links with al-Qaeda<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Singapore continues to investigate possible links between
\nextremist groups reportedly present in the island state and the
\nal-Qaeda terrorist network, diplomats in Singapore said.<\/p>\n
The diplomats added that efforts by the Singaporean
\nauthorities to investigate ties between groups working against
\nthe Singaporean government and the al-Qaeda network were vital to
\nensure the safety of its citizens and all foreigners residing in
\nSingapore, Antara reported from Batam.<\/p>\n
These statements were made following an alleged bomb plot in
\nSingapore, which was revealed in taped evidence, confiscated by
\nSingaporean authorities from two of the 13 men, currently being
\ndetained in Singapore without trial.<\/p>\n
The men, reportedly members of the al Qaeda-linked Jamaah
\nIslamiyah (JI) militant group, were detained for allegedly
\nplotting to bomb U.S. targets in Singapore. They made shaky
\nvideos of the U.S. Embassy and other targets from car parks,
\nmoving vehicles and boats, footage released by the government on
\nFriday showed, as quoted by Reuters.<\/p>\n
Indonesian police officials who had recently tried to
\ninterview the detained JI operatives in Singapore failed to do so
\ndue to the mandatory review of the cases of the 13 men.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Police chief of detectives Insp. Gen. Engkesman
\nHillep and three officials are due to visit Singapore again this
\nweek in order to carry out interviews with the detained suspected
\nterrorists.<\/p>\n
The footage also showed covert shots of the Israeli Embassy,
\nthe British and Australian High Commissions, the Changi Naval
\nBase and the commercial Sembawang Wharf. The footage of the
\nfortress-like U.S. Embassy, some of it shot from an apartment car
\npark across the road, included several close-ups of the guard
\npost.<\/p>\n
A three-member board appointed by Singapore's president last
\nweek began a mandatory review of the cases of the 13 suspects
\nheld under the Internal Security Act (ISA).<\/p>\n
The footage released on Friday, which the government said was
\nfound in the possession of two of the men, was among the evidence
\nexamined by the board earlier last week.<\/p>\n
The video surveillance of the four missions and two naval
\nfacilities, conducted last October and November, was kept on two
\nVCDs marked \"Visiting Singapore Sightseeing\" and \"MP3 -- Rock 'n
\nRoll\", the government said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n
Referring to testimony from one of the suspects, it said
\nfilming of the wharf was conducted from a location in the
\nMalaysian state of Johor across the narrow strait separating the
\ntwo countries.<\/p>\n
The suspects in Singapore can be jailed for renewable two-year
\nperiods under the security act, subject to a review by the ISA
\nAdvisory Board within three months of their detention.<\/p>\n
Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said last month the men
\nplanned to blow up seven targets with trucks holding a total of
\n21 tons of ammonium nitrate -- some 20 times the size of the
\nfertilizer bomb used to destroy the Federal Building in Oklahoma
\nin 1995. The near-simultaneous attacks were to have taken place
\nin either December or January, he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/spore-looks-into-extremists-links-with-al-qaeda-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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