Two more Singaporeans were arrested last month under the Internal Security Act — one man for wanting to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Syria and one woman for maintaining contact with ISIS fighters online.

In a statement released to the media by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), it was revealed that the man was keen to undertake armed violence overseas, while the woman had initiated and maintained contact with a circle of fighters online.

Imran Kassim, 34, detained under ISA

One of them, 34-year-old Imran Kassim, has been issued with an Order of Detention (OD).

He had pledged his allegiance to the ISIS's caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as early as in July 2014. Imran, the managing director of a logistics company, made two attempts to join ISIS between 2014 and 2015.

The Internal Security Department (ISD)'s investigations found that in February 2014, he oversaw a delivery trip that brought humanitarian aid items to a refugee camp in Syria, and tried unsuccessfully to slip away from his hosts to join the terrorist organisation. In March 2015, he tried to get in touch with a pro-ISIS foreign contact to seek his help with travelling to Syria to join the group, but didn't receive any response.

Set up multiple pro-ISIS social media accounts, was ready to target SAF personnel

Apart from that, Imran was reported to the authorities by "people close to him", who noticed he was expressing radical and pro-militant views. According to the MHA, he had been active online galvanising support for the ISIS as well, setting up and maintaining several different social media accounts with various personas, all of which he used to post pro-ISIS content.

More importantly, though, said the MHA, Imran admitted that he was prepared to attack Singapore Armed Forces personnel deployed in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

Either that, or he would hold them hostage to demand ransom from the Singapore government, which he would then channel as funding to ISIS to boost their finances.

Also keen to join pro-ISIS militant groups in Philippines

The MHA said Imran also wanted to join the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a group that is trying to establish an Islamic state in southern Philippines, and since May 2017, has wanted to join the groups that invaded Marawi City, located in southern Philippines as well.

Shakirah Begam binte Abdul Wahab, 23, issued restriction order

Shakirah, an administrative assistant, first learned of the ISIS in 2013 through media reports, and then went online and found the social media details of a foreign terrorist fighter.

The MHA said she then initiated contact with him, and over time expanded her circle of foreign fighter contacts. But as investigations by the ISD later showed, she was simply talking to them as she enjoyed their attention — not so much because she was radicalised by or bought into their propaganda.

She had also stopped talking to the ISIS fighters by early last year, although she continued keeping up with news of developments in Syria.

However, the MHA stressed, Shakirah was "vulnerable to adverse influence and recruitment by terrorists" because of her engagement in "risky behaviour". The restriction order she has been placed under, therefore, will see her going through counselling and rehabilitation, and also prevent her from continuing to contact the ISIS fighters.

2 detainees released, one JI member off restriction order

Meanwhile, two ISA detainees who were arrested in 2015 were last month released from custody after their two-year detention orders expired. Amiruddin bin Sawir, 54, and Muhammad Harith Jailani, 20, were said to have been cooperative and showed good progress in rehabilitation, and so were assessed to no longer pose a security threat that required preventive detention.

Also, 60-year-old Samad bin Subari, a member of the Singapore Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), was released from his restriction order after it lapsed, thanks to his cooperation with rehabilitation efforts. He was first arrested for his involvement with JI in 2011, and was released and issued a restriction order in July 2013.

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Top photo: Internal Security Department Singapore