Singapore embassies attack plot

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The Singapore embassies attack plot was a plan by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jemaah Islamiyah to bomb the diplomatic missions and attack personnel of the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Israel based in Singapore. There were also several other targets.

1 Plan
2 Failure of plot
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Plan

On October 7, 2001, a 30-year old Indonesian using a false Filipino passport and a Kuwaiti on a false Canadian passport were sent to Singapore to activate a sleeper cell.

According to the Singaporean government, at least eight of the sleeper cell members were trained in Afghanistan, and none of them went to the local mosque or even made contact with any local Islamic organizations.

The two men that came, Fathur Rahman al-Ghozi, known as Mike, and a man known as Sammy, were taken to videotape the U.S. Embassy and Australian High Commission. Philippine authorities said that Al-Ghozi had three Philippine passports and an Indonesian passport.

The cell members then set off to find 21 tons of explosives, especially that of ammonium nitrate, along with trucks and chemicals.

[edit] Failure of plot

After September 11, an informant told the Singaporean Internal Security Department about Muhammad Aslam Yar Ali Khan, a Singaporean citizen of Pakistani descent who was a member of a group partnered with Al-Qaeda. Muhammad Aslam Yar Ali Khan was placed under surveillance, and he left for Pakistan on October 4. The man was captured by Northern Alliance officials. His interrogation led investigators to the Singaporean cell.

The arrests of 13 people began on December 9. Soon after that, a video found in an abandoned house in Kabul, Afghanistan, showed a narrator in Singapore, Hashim bin Abas, who described about how bombs could be hidden to attack United States citizens. Besides the embassies, the targets the plotters were believed to have been scouted included a United States Navy bus, United States Air Force warplanes that were stationed at Paya Lebar Air Force Base, United States warships, as well as several United States companies and businesses. The targeted citizens especially included those from the United States Navy who often traveled between the Yishun MRT Station and Sembawang Wharf.

The video also detailed how bombs could be planted in the sewers and drains near the Yishun MRT Station in order to cause massive casualties when targeting United States personnel.

Investigators found similar tapes at the residences of the arrested men. In all, 33 men were arrested in relation to this plot.