Singapore foils teen terror plot weeks before planned attack in public housing area

SINGAPORE: A 17-year-old self-radicalised Singaporean was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) mere weeks before his plan to carry out a terror attack in the Housing Board heartlands.

The student, described in a Friday (Oct 18) press release by the Internal Security Department (ISD) as a "staunch" Islamic State supporter, wanted to use either a kitchen knife or a pair of scissors from his home as his weapon.

Since 2020, ISD has detained five self-radicalised youths who wanted to carry out attacks in Singapore using such easily accessible weapons. Such attacks require little time and preparation to execute, said the department. 

In this particular case, the youth was determined to follow through with his plan and was less than a month away from executing it at the time of his arrest in August, it added. 

He had planned to attack non-Muslim males near Tampines West Community Centre, during the school holidays in September. Following his arrest, the teenager was issued a two-year detention order in September as well.

"CONCRETE" PREPARATIONS

The youth chose the Tampines location as it had high footfall and was within walking distance from his home, said ISD.

He also took "concrete steps" to prepare himself for the attack, the agency added. 

A knife or scissors was his weapon of choice because he felt he could wield them effectively and inflict "maximum damage" on his targets.

"To ensure that he could kill or grievously wound his targets, he planned to stab them in the neck, and practised stabbing motions using different grips with the scissors," said ISD.

In June, he conducted a walkthrough of the route he would take from his house to execute the attack. 

ISD added that the youth was determined to be killed by the police or passers-by in the course of his attack, as this would fulfil his aspiration to become a martyr. 

"He felt a sense of pride knowing that his planned attack, if successfully executed, would be the first terrorist attack in Singapore in recent decades."

He crafted a declaration of armed jihad or struggle against non-Muslims, which he planned to release before his attack in the hope of inspiring other Muslims to engage in armed violence, said ISD.

HOW HE WAS SELF-RADICALISED

ISD said the student became exposed to the teachings of foreign radical preachers in August 2023 while searching for religious knowledge online.

He started to subscribe to segregationist religious beliefs, such as the view that Muslims should not extend festive greetings to non-Muslims. 

The attacks by the Hamas militant group against Israel on Oct 7, 2023 led to a surge in online extremist materials by Islamic State and other terrorist groups, seeking to capitalise on the conflict to peddle their violent narratives, said ISD. 

The youth’s exposure to the pro-Islamic State material online led him down the path of radicalisation, it added.

He then joined various online groups which gave updates on Islamic State's activities, and bought into its rhetoric of promoting the use of armed violence to establish an Islamic caliphate. 

By January, the youth was aspiring to die as a martyr while fighting for Islamic State. 

In May, after taking a pledge of allegiance to the group, he regarded himself as a member and was willing to carry out any instructions from them - including mounting attacks, said ISD. 

For one, he believed he had to obey Islamic State's incitement for its followers to kill non-Muslims wherever they are. He was also inspired by Islamic State propaganda which glorified suicide knife attacks; which eventually led to his plan.

SYRIAN PLANS

Before his planned attack in Singapore, the teen also intended to travel to Syria to join Islamic State and engage in armed violence. 

While he did not have any specific timeline for his travel, he did reach out to an online contact based in Syria for advice, and also researched flight routes there.

"While he was against National Service (NS) as he did not wish to serve a secular, and therefore, in his view, a 'kuffar' (infidel) government, he would still go through NS if enlisted as he saw it as a potential avenue to equip himself with military and combat skills to aid him in fighting in Syria," said ISD in its release. 

To prepare himself, he also downloaded materials from an extremist magazine which contained tips on planning an attack or conducting a roadside ambush.

Up until his arrest, the youth continued to see his plan to fight in Syria as an "important and meaningful endeavour", as he would be able to fight and die alongside fellow Islamic State fighters to help establish an Islamic state in Syria, ISD said.

But he also acknowledged it would be difficult to travel to Syria without arousing suspicions from his family. 

"This contributed to his decision to plan an attack in Singapore, which he felt would be easier to carry out and fulfil his aspirations to be a martyr," ISD added. 

COVERED HIS TRACKS

The youth also sought to propagate his beliefs by actively sharing on social media radical materials promoting armed jihad, including chants by Islamic State. 

"He admitted that he wanted to influence his followers into hating non-Muslims and believing that it was acceptable to kill them," said ISD.

He also frequently shared segregationist beliefs, such as advising Muslims not to interact with non-Muslims or participate in non-Muslim festivals. 

ISD investigations thus far found that the youth was unsuccessful in radicalising his followers or contacts, and that he acted alone.

His family and friends were unaware of his plans to conduct an attack in Singapore or engage in armed violence in Syria, the agency said. 

However, his parents had noticed him watching videos of foreign preachers and advised him against it, saying the material may not be suitable for Singapore’s context. But the student paid no heed.

Instead, he took steps to conceal his activities, such as using codewords when discussing his radical beliefs online and virtual private networks (VPNs) when surfing radical websites, said ISD.

The agency noted that this latest case underscores the trend of youth radicalisation seen in recent years.

And such radicalisation - which usually takes place online - can occur within a short span of a few months.

ISD also pointed to the growing threat of lone-actor attacks against soft targets, using simple and easily accessible weapons, as the Islamic State and other terrorist groups call on their followers to mount attacks wherever they are located.

Anyone who knows or suspects that a person has been radicalised should contact the ISD hotline at 1800-2626-473.