Six terror cell members nabbed; leader was planning attack on Singapore
By Arlina Arshad, Indonesia Correspondent In Jakarta, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2016
The terror threat facing Singapore took on a more menacing face yesterday after six militants were arrested in Batam.
Police said their leader had been planning a rocket attack on Marina Bay together with a Syrian-based Indonesian ISIS militant. The six men in Batam had been kept under watch for a while before they were arrested by Indonesian police in an early-morning raid.
Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Facebook: "Our security agencies have been coordinating closely with the Indonesian authorities to monitor the activities of this group and to apprehend those involved.
"We are grateful for the good cooperation by the Indonesian authorities and their actions to apprehend the group."
In response to this threat and the prevailing security situation, police and other agencies have been stepping up inland and border security measures, said Mr Teo. "This development highlights the seriousness of the terrorism threat to Singapore," he said.
Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said the six "were thinking of attacking Marina Bay with rockets", and "this shows how our enemies are thinking of different ways of attacking us".
He drew a parallel with Molenbeek, the Belgian town from which terrorists planned their assault on Paris last November and, in a series of coordinated attacks, killed 130 people. "There are several possible Molenbeeks around us from which attacks can be launched on Singapore. These include the Riau Islands," he said.
The islands are a short boat ride from Singapore and include Batam, where the six members of a little-known terror cell called Katibah GR, or Cell GR, were picked up yesterday by Indonesia's elite counter-terrorism unit Densus 88 along with the local police.
Five of those arrested work in electronics factories and one at a bank. They are between 19 and 46 years old. Their leader, Gigih Rahmat Dewa, 31, was nabbed at his house, where he lived with his wife and baby.
Indonesia's national police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar told reporters in Jakarta that Gigih "had planned to launch a rocket from Batam to Marina Bay Singapore".
He had planned this with Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant believed to have been fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in the Syrian city of Raqqa.
Police said Gigih took orders from Bahrun, and among their plans was to attack public areas.
The two men were also part of the larger terror narrative unfolding in Indonesia. The cell was suspected of harbouring Uighurs, the Muslim ethnic group from China, some of whose members have joined extremists in Indonesia. It had also received funds to send fighters to Syria.
Mr Shanmugam said that in addition to lone wolves and radicalised groups, the terrorist threat to Singapore now also came from those seeking to come in through its checkpoints and those who would try to launch attacks from just outside.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said: "We should assume that there may be more plots, other terror cells on the lookout for ways, and new munitions to penetrate our defences. Terrorism is a global problem and no country is immune."
Terror arrests in Batam
Singapore was aware of terror cell: Shanmugam
DPM Teo says police and other agencies have stepped up security measures in Singapore as well as at its borders
By Pearl Lee and Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2016
Singapore was aware of the group of militants based in Batam who were planning to attack Marina Bay, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday.
The news that such a plot was being hatched so close to Singapore's borders was no surprise, he added in reply to media queries after the Indonesian police arrested six members of the militant cell in Batam.
Mr Shanmugam had, in recent months, raised concerns about terrorists targeting Singapore from abroad, and who could try to enter the country or locate themselves just outside the country.
"Our small size increases these risks," he said yesterday.
Apart from plotting the attack, the cell's leader, 31-year-old Gigih Rahmat Dewa, was helping Indonesian fighters travel to Syria and was receiving funds from Syria-based militant Bahrun Naim for attacks.
Both Mr Shanmugam and Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is Coordinating Minister for National Security, noted that Singapore's security agencies and their Indonesian counterparts had coordinated closely to monitor the activities of the group and apprehend those involved.
The ministers said they were grateful for Indonesia's cooperation and enforcement action.
Mr Teo said on Facebook that the police and other agencies have stepped up security measures in Singapore as well as at its borders.
"This development highlights the seriousness of the terrorism threat to Singapore, and the importance of the SG Secure national movement," he added.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will launch SG Secure next month. It aims to mobilise Singaporeans to be more conscious of security, respond to a terror attack and stay united as a society after an attack.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post that the arrests are a reminder that Singapore has to stay vigilant and keep improving its defence systems.
"Since 9/11, the SAF has paid very close attention to aerial threats and has upgraded our air defence systems," he added, stressing the need for people to stay united.
Security analysts like Mr Jasminder Singh of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research said the arrests are a reminder of the need to stay vigilant in the face of the terror threat.
Mr Singh said that while the actual risk of a successful rocket attack on Marina Bay is debatable, the threat of terrorism remains real given Singapore's strong stance against terrorism and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group.
Referring to remarks Mr Lee made on an official visit to the United States this week, he said: "As Prime Minister Lee mentioned, Singapore being a target is not new - whether or not we are part of the US-led coalition against ISIS - because of what we represent: A harmonious multiracial and multi- religious country."
The arrests underline the importance of intelligence sharing among governments in the region, he noted. But a population that is alert to suspicious and radical activity is also needed to deter an attack.
This is why Ms Susan Sim, vice-president for Asia at security consultancy The Soufan Group, said SG Secure is crucial.
"It is a way to teach us to practise situational awareness so we don't remain complacent or become paranoid, but can contribute meaningfully to keeping ourselves and everyone else around us safe," she said.
Singapore's low crime rate and high level of safety may lead some to assume that attacks may not happen here. But Ms Sim noted that recent incidents in Germany and France, where attackers used knives and a truck respectively, show "the modus operandi of a terrorist is limited only by the imagination".
"You don't need sophisticated tools to launch an attack," she said.
Reverend Bobby Lee, secretary of the Geylang Serai Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle, said people need to realise that today's peace "has to be guarded".
"The public needs to realise that it is not just the police's duty to protect us. We can't think that we'll just leave such matters to the experts," he said. "We have to have fortitude, be aware and remain vigilant."
Notorious militant's link to arrests
By Arlina Arshad,Indonesia Correspondent, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2016
Indonesian militant Muhammad Bahrun Naim, whose name came up after yesterday's arrests in Batam, has been in the news since 2010, when he was arrested for illegal possession of ammunition.
He is now said to be fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the terrorist organisation.
The 32-year-old is believed to be a leader among militants in the Katibah Nusantara, a South-east Asian military unit under ISIS that recruits militants from Indonesia, Malaysia and other parts of the region.
Yesterday, the Indonesian authorities said that Bahrun and Gigih Rahmat Dewa, the leader of a Batam cell who was arrested, had plans to attack Marina Bay in Singapore.
In March, Singapore's Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a speech that Bahrun was well-known to security agencies in the region, and was actively encouraging militants to launch attacks in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
In November 2010, Indonesian police's elite counter-terrorism unit, Densus 88, arrested Bahrun and seized hundreds of bullets from his home.
He was jailed for 21/2 years. The court, however, found insufficient evidence to pursue terror charges.
He disappeared after he served his time, and police believed he went to Syria. But he remains in close contact with domestic terror cells and militants in Indonesia.
Bahrun is from Pekalongan in Central Java, and worked as a computer technician and ran an Internet cafe in the city of Solo. Gigih is from Solo, also in Central Java.
Police believe Bahrun masterminded the brazen attack in Jakarta in January which killed eight people. A police spokesman said at the time that Bahrun had sent money back to Indonesia to finance the attack.
Bahrun was believed to have also taught Nur Rohman, the suicide bomber who blew himself up near a police station in Solo on July 5, to build bombs. A police officer was injured in the attack.
Indonesian police spokesman Agus Rianto yesterday said Bahrun had sent money to Gigih to finance radical activities. "Gigih was to carry out attacks on several places on Bahrun's order," he added. These include suicide attacks targeting public places and police offices.
In a Telegram exchange with Reuters news agency on Nov 24 last year, Bahrun said there were more than enough ISIS supporters to "carry out an action" in Indonesia. "Just waiting for the right trigger," he reportedly said.
Not long after that Telegram exchange, intelligence officials began to pick up talk in social messaging chatrooms that an attack on Indonesia was imminent.
In the same exchange, Bahrun said he enjoyed life in Syria.
"I move around, depending on where our emir orders us to go. It's good here in Syria.
"There's electricity, accommodation, water, and it's free. The services provided by them are good, cheaper than in Indonesia."
Ringleader of little-known Cell GR
By Arlina Arshad, Indonesia Correspondent, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2016
Suspected Indonesian militant Gigih Rahmat Dewa is the ringleader of a little-known local terror cell called Katibah GR, or "Cell GR".
Indonesian police arrested him - along with his wife and baby - as well as five other cell members in raids on various locations on Batam Island yesterday.
Police said that besides having had plans "to launch a rocket from Batam to Marina Bay Singapore", he was also said to have received and channelled funds for radical activities, and helped Indonesians make the trip to Syria, via Turkey, to fight with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants.
The 31-year-old Solo native is said to be working for an elec- tronics factory in Batam. He has been living in a house belonging to his older brother on the island since 2011.
The family kept to themselves and did not attend community gatherings, a neighbour, Ms Sundari, told reporters yesterday.
She also said the police told her they have seized some items from his house, including "a bomb which has already been assembled".
Marina Bay rocket attack plot from Batam 'not to be taken lightly'
Experts say it is a 'real possibility' and if successful, would have been a 'big achievement' for terrorists
By Arlina Arshad, Indonesia Correspondent, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2016
News of an Indonesian militant plot to fire a rocket to hit Singapore's Marina Bay may seem like a far-fetched idea to some, but terror analysts say it is a "real possibility" and a threat not to be taken lightly.
And if the leader of the little- known terror group, Katibah GR or "Cell GR", from the holiday island of Batam had succeeded in doing so, it would have been a "big achievement" for supporters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the region.
"Singapore is well known for being very careful and has very tight security. Terrorists hope to break it down. The attack, if launched successfully, would result in very strong resonance," terrorism expert and Aceh university lecturer Al Chaidar told The Straits Times. "It would be an important win, like the attack on the World Trade Center in the US."
The group, led by 31-year-old factory worker Gigih Rahmat Dewa, comprises more than a dozen people and is "fairly new", having been set up around 2014, Mr Al Chaidar said.
Analysts told The Straits Times that the group is linked to radical ideologue Aman Abdurrahman, who police said had a hand in plotting the Jan 14 terrorist attack in Jakarta, which killed eight people.
Aman was long suspected to have a role in the attack on the capital which was carried out by four militants under Indonesia's Jemaah Anshar Khilafah terror network.
Indonesian police said yesterday that Gigih and a Syria-based Indonesian militant, Bahrun Naim, had plans to attack Marina Bay in Singapore. Bahrun officially pledged himself to ISIS in 2014 and travelled to Syria last year after becoming a disciple of master recruiter Aman.
Indonesia's security forces are focusing on domestic terror networks and smaller militant cells trying to take over the mantle from Jemaah Islamiah (JI).
Analysts noted that some of the group members rounded up are young - with the youngest being 19 - so they are "definitely not" recruits from JI.
They added that they were "surprised" to learn that the Batam cell was plotting to attack Singapore as its interest was really to fight alongside ISIS in Syria.
However, Mr Al Chaidar said rumours have swirled that Gigih's group planned to hijack a boat and launch a homemade missile towards the Marina Bay area from sea, he said.
"They are not militants talking big. They do have the expertise since they have had industrial and technical jobs before. It's not impossible," he said.
Early last month, two chilling letters were sent by local mail to the Singapore offices of ferry operators Horizon Fast Ferry and Batam Fast, by a militant group called Kelompok Islam Insaf, threatening to strike popular tourist destinations such as Tanjung Pinang and the Nagoya Hill mall in Batam.
Indonesian police in the Riau Islands said a week later that the bomb threat no longer posed any immediate danger and lowered terror alert levels. That was likely how the police uncovered the Batam cell, Mr Al Chaidar said.
Mr Taufik Andrie, a terrorism expert from the Institute for International Peace Building, told The Straits Times that Batam is a "hub" or gathering spot for Indonesian militants wanting to join the battle in Syria. Gigih's cell acts as a "connector", helping them to make the trip illegally through Malaysia and Singapore.
He said Singapore is being targeted as it is considered to be "part of a global coalition against ISIS, even if the Singapore Government did not send people to directly fight in Syria".
He said "it has been a while" since he last heard about plots to attack Singapore. The last time was in 2002, when the Singapore authorities revealed that Yishun MRT station had been the target of a bomb plot by a terrorist cell.
Mr Taufik said he has not heard of terrorists wanting to launch an attack by firing a rocket, whether to Singapore or anywhere in Indonesia.
He said it is unlikely that a rocket could "fly across" from the Batam mainland to Singapore - whether hand-held or mounted on a vehicle - due to the distance of some 25km. But he warned that an attack from sea is "highly possible".
"We must remain vigilant and alert. We cannot underestimate them. After all, they are extremists. If they really want to do it, they will put in the effort," he said.
"Every terrorist threat is important," he added.
Analysts said the authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore must step up joint sea patrols in the common waterways, as well as secure illegal ports in remote areas such as Aceh. Regular spot checks must also be carried out on boats.
Indonesia has been the target of several terror threats in recent months, including lately from the East Indonesian Mujahidin extremist group.
'Military-grade rocket needed' to hit Singapore from Batam
By Jeremy Koh, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2016
Hitting Singapore from Batam would have required a military- grade rocket and complex calculations, said a military observer.
Though it is not known what kind of rockets the suspects planned to use, weapons and equipment editor Kelvin Wong of military publication IHS Jane's told The Straits Times they would likely have needed a military-grade rocket able to travel the distance of around 25km between the Indonesian island and Singapore. If they were building their own rocket, fine calculations would have been required.
"Building a rocket requires a high level of physics," he said. "There are also quite a lot of variables they need to account for - like wind direction, the launch angle, how much propellant to put in the rocket."
Given the distance to Singapore, the suspects would also have needed rockets more powerful than the homemade Qassam ones fired by Hamas and Palestinian militants at Israel which have a maximum range of about 12km.
Reaching Singapore from Batam would require more powerful weaponry such as Katyusha-style, Grad and Chinese WS-1E rockets.
But S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies research fellow Wu Shang-su highlighted the possibility of attackers launching a rocket from a boat nearer to Singapore, possibly putting Marina Bay within range.
Batam's terror links
The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2016
August 2015
Dwi Djoko Wiwoho, director of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board's licensing office in the Riau Islands, and his wife leave their house in Batam to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
He was to return to work from leave on Sept 1.
February 2016
Four Indonesian followers of radical ideologue Aman Abdurrahman are deported from Singapore.
They had planned to use Batam and Bintan islands as transit points for others heading to the Middle East to join ISIS.
July 12, 2016
Indonesian police lower the terror alert levels in the Riau Islands after raising it following a bomb threat the previous week. A little-known militant group, Kelompok Islam Insaf, had sent two letters by local mail to the Singapore offices of ferry operators Horizon Fast Ferry and Batam Fast on July 4, threatening to strike tourist destinations such as Tanjung Pinang, Nagoya Hill mall in Batam, and key ports in Batam and Bintan.
Mid-July 2016
Indonesian intelligence is alerted that several Uighurs, a Turkic-Muslim ethnic group in China's western region of Xinjiang, have entered the Riau Islands province. Uighur militants have been known to link up with extremist groups in Indonesia.
Aug 5, 2016
Indonesian police arrest six suspected militants in Batam.
The purported leader of the cell had plans to use a rocket to attack Marina Bay.