WAS it home-made? Did they intend to fire the rocket across the 20 km or so of sea from Batam to Singapore? Or were they thinking of using a boat, coming close to Singapore and launching the rocket from there? That’s the latest speculation swirling on just how the wannabe terrorists, who have been arrested in Batam for plotting an attack on Singapore, particularly Marina Bay, want to make a name for themselves.
It seems incredible to some that they want to do such a long-distance attack. Why not come to Singapore? Because they would be caught or turned away at checkpoints? Last November, it was reported that two Indonesian men planning to travel to Syria were turned away at Singapore’s HarbourFront Ferry Terminal and sent back to Batam.
Not much is known about how the group of six, allegedly led by factory worker Gigih Rahmat Dewa, 31, wanted to carry out the dastardly deed. They had a stash of weapons with them but no details were given. All but one worked at electronics factories in Batam. The group is known as Katibah Gigih Rahmat (GR) or Cell GR.
So who are they really? Have they got bigger backers?
Here’s where the word “linked” is used heavily in news reports.
Gigih has been linked to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant who has been linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. He’s been on the radar of security agencies, including Singapore.
Analysts also told The Straits Times that the group is linked to radical ideologue Aman Abdurrahman, whom police said had a hand in plotting the Jan 14 terrorist attack in Jakarta, in which eight people died.
The idea of militants plotting attacks from afar is not incredible at all. Singaporeans might want to recall that they’ve been warned that places like Batam, Bintan and even neighbouring Johor could be staging points or areas where the planning is done to wreak havoc.
There have been signs. Remember the flyers that were circulating in Batam last month warning Singaporeans about being targeted? The Singapore offices of ferry operators Horizon Fast Ferry and Batam Fast had also received letters from a militant group called Kelompok Islam Insaf, threatening to strike popular tourist destinations such as Tanjung Pinang and the Nagoya Hill mall in Batam. According to the Jakarta Post, Indonesian police received a letter on July 1 informing them of a group on the Batam and Bintan islands planning an attack.
Did Singapore know?
Both Mr Shanmugam and Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is Coordinating Minister for National Security, said the two countries agencies had coordinated closely to monitor the activities of the group and apprehend those involved. So the answer is yes.
Strangely though, Riau Islands police chief Brigadier General Sambudi Gusdian was quoted in the Jakarta Post as saying that the arrests were “purely the result of an investigation by Densus 88, not the result of Singapore’s assistance”. Densus 88 is Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism forces.
Never mind who did what. We’re glad they’ve been nabbed, we thank Indonesia and now the people on this little red dot would want to know what would happen to the group next.
Because what analysts are saying about the arrests are chilling.
Terrorism expert and Aceh university lecturer Al Chaidar told ST:
“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. It would be an important win, like the attack on the World Trade Center in the US.”
Featured image TMG file.
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