Singapore detains 8 Bangladeshis for alleged IS-related terror plot

The Singapore government on Tuesday announced the arrest of eight Bangladeshi men who allegedly plotted terror attacks, including assassinations, back home to establish an Islamic state.

The suspects were arrested under the tough Internal Security Act in April and had originally planned to go to Syria to join the Islamic State group, the Singapore home ministry said.

Items seized included bomb-making manuals, and a list of government and military officials targeted for attack.

Also found on the men were weapons, as well as IS and Al-Qaeda-related material.

"They were members of a clandestine group set up by Rahman Mizanur in March 2016 in Singapore, which he called 'Islamic State in Bangladesh'(ISB)," the ministry said in a statement.

It described Mizanur, 31, as the holder of a skilled worker's pass while the seven others were lower-tier work permit holders. All were employed in the construction and marine industries.

The ministry said that two more ISB members were in Bangladesh, according to the ones detained in Singapore.

The group had planned to recruit more Bangladeshi workers in Singapore and raised money to buy weapons to carry out attacks back home. The ministry said the money had been seized.

The group's leader Mizanur also told investigators that he would carry out attacks anywhere in the world if instructed to do so by IS.

But there were no specific indications that Singapore had been selected as a target, the ministry said.

Singapore in January announced the arrest of 27 Bangladeshi men in late 2015 for allegedly plotting terror attacks back home. The men have since been deported.