3 Singaporeans accused of planning to travel to Mideast to join fight against Israel

Singapore says it has detained three men since October last year who were preparing to travel to the Middle East to fight against Israel, and one expressed willingness to carry out attacks in Singapore if instructed to do so.

The Home Affairs Ministry says in a statement that the three Singaporean men are not linked to one other and were “radicalized” online, but there is no indication others were recruited.

It is not immediately clear why the ministry is announcing the detentions now.

Following their arrest in October, they were detained under Singapore’s Internal Security Act, which allows suspects to be held for lengthy periods without trial.

The three are a director of a digital marketing company, a lift mechanic and a security guard, aged 41, 21 and 44, respectively.

One of the three was willing to carry out any instruction from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the statement says, “including conducting attacks in Singapore,” adding the man had no specific attack plans.

The Palestinian terror group Hamas is backed by Iran. Iran has not made a threat against Singapore, though it has vowed to target Israeli and Jewish targets abroad.

One of the men visited a shooting range in Thailand to learn to operate firearms, while two planned to visit shooting ranges in Indonesia, it says.

The ministry says restrictions were placed on two other Singaporeans in June and July last year under the security law, related to the conflict in Gaza.