Four radicalised Singaporeans have been arrested for joining armed Islamist groups in war-torn Yemen and Syria, the government here said today.
Mohammad Razif Yahya, 27, and Amiruddin Sawir, 53, were both detained under the under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in August 2015 for voluntarily taking up arms and joining the sectarian conflict in Yemen, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.
They started religious studies in an institution in Yemen in January 2010 and July 2013, respectively, and volunteered to take up armed sentry duties at the institution against any incursion by the Houthis, the ministry said.
Razif was armed with an AK-47 rifle and a Dragunov sniper rifle and had volunteered for sniper training, which he put into practice when fighting the Houthi rebels, MHA stated.
Amiruddin was armed with an AK-47 and was involved in a firefight, it added.
"Razif and Amiruddin were prepared to kill and be killed as 'martyrs' in the sectarian conflict in Yemen. By taking up arms in Yemen, they have demonstrated a readiness to use violence to pursue their religious cause," Channel News Asia reported citing the MHA statement.
A third man, Mohamed Mohideen Mohamed Jais, 25, had performed armed sentry duties in Yemen during his religious studies there from 2009 to early 2011.
Mohideen has since been placed on a Restriction Order (RO) under the ISA with effect from March, the ministry said.
The fourth man, Wang Yuandongyi, intended to travel to Syria to join a Kurdish militia group that is fighting against the Islamic State.
The 23-year-old left Singapore in January this year for a third country, from where he intended to travel to Turkey and on to Syria, the MHA said.
However, someone who became aware of his plans reported him and, on the request of Singapore, Wang was located and turned back to the country.
