First woman detained in Singapore for "radicalisation"

A 22-year-old infant care assistant, Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, has been detained on charges of radicalisation in Singapore.

She is the first woman in Singapore to be taken in custody on a radicalisation charge.

According to the country's Ministry of Home Affairs, Ansari fell in the trap of radicalisation in 2013 through online propaganda related to the Islamic terrorist group- Islamic State (IS).

Her radical nature aggravated with the passage of time due to the huge network of foreign contacts she had developed. Her contacts included IS militants who had either been killed in Syria, or been arrested for conducting acts of terrorism. She had been actively posting pro-ISIS content on different social media platforms.

"Izzah was intent on joining ISIS and was actively planning to make her way to Syria, with her young child. She supported the IS' use of violence to establish and even aspired to live in it," the ministry statement said.

Since 2015, she was even in search of an IS supporter to settle down with in Syria.

Izzah believed she would reap "heavenly rewards" if her husband died in battle fighting for Islam.

Ansari's family learned of her radical behaviour in 2015, but they continued to refrain from reporting the same to the Singaporean authorities. They tried to dissuade her on their own, but were unsuccessful.

"The heightened terrorism threat worldwide and in Singapore makes it imperative for family members and friends to alert the authorities if they suspect anyone is being radicalised or planning terror activities", the statement said.