Singapore Embassies Attack Plot - Failure of Plot

Failure of Plot

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, an informant told the Internal Security Department about Muhammad Aslam Yar Ali Khan, who is a Singaporean citizen of Pakistani descent and had made claims of having ties with Al-Qaeda. Khan was placed under surveillance, but he abruptly left Singapore for Pakistan on October 4. He was later captured by United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan officials. His interrogation led investigators to the Singaporean cell.

Singapore authorities conducted the first raid on 9 December 2001, arresting six people. A total of 15 people were arrested within a month. During the raids, the police seized documents of the attack plots and bomb making information, as well as photographs and surveillance video of the intended targets including the embassies. Fake passports and forged immigration documents were also found.

Soon after, a JI-made surveillance video was recovered among the rubbles of a house that was bombed by US coalition forces in Kabul, Afghanistan. It was the home of Mohammed Atef, a close aide of Osama bin Laden. The video showed a narrator in Singapore, Hashim bin Abas, describing how bombs could be hidden to attack United States interests. Besides the embassies, the plotters were also planning to target United States Air Force warplanes that were stationed at Paya Lebar Air Force Base, as well as several United States companies and businesses. There were also plans to attack U.S. Navy warships along Singapore's coastlines, similar to the USS Cole bombing in Yemen in October 2000.

The JI group were also plotting to attack United States Navy personnel and their families who often traveled between the Yishun MRT Station and Sembawang Wharf via shuttle buses. 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. The video also showed a man describing how explosive can be strapped on bicycles and be transported without raising suspicion. Investigators in Singapore had found similar tapes at the residence of Mohamed Khalim bin Jaffar, one of arrested JI members. The Singapore government presented these material as evidences of a direct link between the JI group and Al-Qaeda.

On 15 January 2002, Fathur Rahman al-Ghozi was arrested by authorities in the Philippines. He gave police information that led to a cache of rifles, explosive and bomb-making material in Southern Philippines. These were believed to be part of the embassies attack plot.

In August 2002, ISD conducted another major security operation and arrested 18 persons, most of them were members of JI, while two were members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a militant separatist group in the Philippines.