3 S'porean self-radicalised youths detained under ISA, 1 planned attacks on SAF personnel & LGBT schoolmates

Three self-radicalised male Singaporean youths were issued with Orders of Detention (ODs) under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in April, May and June 2026, respectively.

All three were self-radicalised online by violent extremist ideologies, and had each made preparations to conduct attacks in Singapore.

According to a press release by the Internal Security Department on Jul. 27, the youths were at varying stages of planning and preparing for the local attacks when they were arrested.

The three youths are aged 14, 15, and 19.

First case - Sec 4 student, no one reported him

The first case involved a 15-year-old Secondary Four student who was self-radicalised online by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)’s extremist ideologies.

His radicalisation had been triggered by Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attacks against Israel, after which he was exposed to a proliferation of content online depicting the suffering of Palestinians.

He had also joined several online groups to learn more about Islam. Through them, he was exposed to violent extremist content, which in turn encouraged him to support terrorist groups.

His repeated exposure to extremist narratives about the Israel-Palestinian conflict fuelled his hatred towards Israelis, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Zionists.

He also viewed the violence carried out by groups fighting against Israel, including Hamas, Hizbollah and the Houthis, as a form of jihad against Israeli oppression.

Considered travelling to Gaza to fight for Hamas

In 2024, the 15-year-old briefly considered travelling to Gaza to join Hamas in their fight against the IDF.

He conducted cursory research into possible travel routes, but did not make further preparations as he felt he lacked the resources to do so.

Instead, he expressed his support for Hamas and hatred towards Israel on social media.

This included creating and posting a video encouraging Muslims to carry out armed violence for the Palestinian cause.

At the same time, the youth developed an interest in historical Islamic caliphates and ISIS through the online groups he frequented.

He became convinced that establishing an Islamic caliphate to revive the 'Golden Era' for Islam and for Muslims to live in a society ruled by sharia (Islamic law) was necessary.

He also felt proud about ISIS’s success in establishing a caliphate in Syria in 2014, and believed that the use of violence was the most effective way to achieve this.

Wanted to establish "Islamic Caliphate" in SEA

By mid-2025, he had set his sights on establishing an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia comprising Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, which he called the "Malaya Caliphate".

He believed that the proximity of these countries to Singapore would make it easier to recruit like-minded individuals.

He also considered starting the caliphate in Aceh, Indonesia, as it was already governed by sharia.

As part of his preparations, he researched online about making explosives and created several social media chat groups to recruit others to his cause.

He also shared pro-ISIS content in the groups and created a flag for his proposed caliphate.

He told his mother the flag was meant to show his support for Palestine, and his mother had assisted him in printing it via an e-commerce retailer.

The youth publicly pledged allegiance to ISIS on social media in late 2025 and came to see himself as a member of the terrorist group.

He supported ISIS' acts of violence and viewed fighters who died while carrying out attacks as martyrs.

He also aspired to travel to Syria or Iraq to live under ISIS rule and support the group.

He searched online for flights from Singapore to the region and looked for overseas shooting ranges where he could familiarise himself with firearms.

He also intended to use his future National Service stint to gain firearms training and build the physical fitness and mental resilience needed to fight for ISIS.

Planned to carry out attack in Singapore

The youth also planned to carry out an attack in Singapore, believing that ISIS-inspired attacks were justified as revenge for the deaths of ISIS fighters.

He viewed secular states which labelled ISIS as a terrorist organisation as enemies of the group, and this included Singapore.

To him, attacks by ISIS against such states were justified.

He had researched methods of making improvised explosives and looked into obtaining materials needed for such devices.

He was subsequently arrested while still in the early stages of planning.

At the time, he had not identified a specific location, target or timeline for the attack, but had envisioned carrying it out in an urban setting and causing multiple civilian casualties.

Although the youth claimed he had not shared his attack plans with anyone, his family and friends appeared to be aware of his extremist views.

None reported him to the authorities.

Second case - Muslim convert, wanted to attack Air Force personnel and LGBTQ schoolmates

The second case involved 19-year-old Tan Jun Jie, a Muslim convert who began practising Islam in 2022 after being introduced to the religion through social media content.

In late 2022, he was exposed to online extremist teachings of foreign preachers and subsequently to rigid and fundamentalist religious beliefs.

These made him susceptible to pro-ISIS and other extremist content he encountered online from January 2025.

By late 2025, Tan believed that armed violence was permissible against "kuffar", or disbelievers.

He included non-Muslims, Shi'ite Muslims, Muslims whose understanding of Islam differed from his own, and individuals who served secular governments in this category.

Self-identified as ISIS member

By January 2026, Tan saw himself as an ISIS member and had taken the bai'ah, or pledge of allegiance, in his heart.

He was convinced of ISIS' religious legitimacy and believed the group was fighting "disbelievers" to establish an Islamic caliphate.

Tan was prepared to carry out attacks in Singapore if ordered to do so by ISIS.

He was also convinced that he would be a martyr if he died while fighting on the battlefield, and hence wanted to travel overseas to undertake armed jihad.

He initially considered travelling to Gaza under the guise of humanitarian work to join Hamas in its fight against the IDF.

He later abandoned the plan, deeming it unfeasible, and instead planned to travel to Somalia to join an ISIS affiliate there.

As part of his preparations, Tan researched travel to Somalia and looked up information related to making explosives.

Wanted to attack SAF personnel & LGBTQ schoolmates

In late 2025, he also made plans to attack two groups in Singapore: Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel stationed at the entrance of Sembawang Air Base, and LGBTQ students at his school.

He was also prepared to be killed while executing the attacks.

He regarded the SAF personnel as enemy combatants serving what he called the "kuffar Government" of Singapore.

He viewed the attack on SAF personnel as his priority, believing it would bring greater divine rewards and increase his chances of dying as a martyr.

Tan also viewed the behaviour of LGBTQ students as "un-Islamic".

He researched knife techniques and identified a knife he intended to purchase from a local shopping mall.

He did not have a specific timeline for the attacks, but was prepared to carry them out if he failed to travel to Somalia and join ISIS.

Tan also had violent thoughts about killing Muslim acquaintances who disagreed with his religious beliefs.

While preparing food at home, he had imagined that his kitchen cleaver was a knife to slit his acquaintances’ throats, mimicking executions in ISIS’s propaganda videos.

He was eventually reported to the authorities by acquaintances who were concerned about his extremist views and intention to engage in violence in Singapore and overseas.

Attempted cyberattacks

Tan is also undergoing a separate investigation for potential offences under the Computer Misuse Act.

He admitted to attempting DDoS cyberattacks in mid-2025 against the websites of several local and foreign Muslim organisations, which he regarded as "deviant".

He had downloaded malware to carry out the attacks and wanted to restrict access to the websites as he believed their teachings were misguided.

Tan had also recorded an oral declaration justifying his actions:

"… Anyways, the point is, I gave y’all enough time and patience. So, here's what I'm gonna do.

With the skills that Allah has given me, nothing haram, everything within the Shariah, I'm going to use my skills to cyber attack these organisations and their forms of dakwah.

InshaAllah, I hope I can take down their sites. Dox and expose the relevant individuals."

However, he later decided against spreading the recording as the websites continued to be accessible after his DDoS attempts.

Third case - Youth aged 12 at the time, radicalised on Roblox

The third case involved a 14-year-old youth, who was aged 12 at the time.

In 2024, he encountered First-Person Shooter (FPS) games on Roblox that recreated real-life school shootings.

Curious, he searched for more information online and learnt about mass shooters who had been victims of bullying and who viewed their attacks as retaliation against those who had wronged them.

The youth, who said he had also been bullied, identified with the shooters.

He also consumed violent gore and mass shooting content on social media recommended by algorithms, as well as from online channels linked to the True Crime Community.

As he consumed such content and played games recreating mass shootings, he imagined his own bullies as the victims depicted in the videos and games, while seeing himself as the perpetrator.

In 2024, he also came across the 2016 mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Florida, United States, carried out by ISIS supporter Omar Mateen, on social media.

The youth idolised Mateen, relating to his experiences of bullying, and admired the high number of people he killed.

He believed killing gay people was justified because he considered homosexuality to be haram, or forbidden, in Islam.

He subsequently consumed more ISIS content and came to support the group's killing of "kuffar", which he defined as non-Muslims.

Shared extremist content with schoolmates, none were radicalised

He was also willing to attack non-Muslims if instructed to do so by ISIS.

The youth also considered travelling to Syria to join ISIS, but ultimately did not do so due to a lack of resources.

To flaunt his support for ISIS and promote the group, he shared ISIS-related videos to his friends and schoolmates.

None of his schoolmates were radicalised by his attempts.

The youth was also exposed to far-right extremist materials, including anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi narratives.

Over time, he developed anti-Semitic views and supported Adolf Hitler's killing of Jews.

He also subscribed to the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division’s accelerationist beliefs. and supported white supremacist ideas.

Planned attack on schoolmates

By late 2025, fuelled by grievances over being bullied by schoolmates and academic stress from teachers, he planned a mass-casualty attack at his school against non-Muslim schoolmates during the June 2026 school holidays.

The reason for planning the attack during the holidays was he felt there would be fewer teachers present to stop his attack.

He also identified specific days when he and his intended targets would be at school for co-curricular activities.

The youth initially considered using firearms but abandoned the idea because of Singapore's strict gun laws.

He later explored using a handmade bomb, before abandoning that idea due to the cost of obtaining the required materials.

He then decided to use knives instead, saying he was confident in his ability to carry out a stabbing attack, after repeatedly watching ISIS execution and stabbing tutorial videos.

He also intended to livestream the attack and planned to pledge allegiance to ISIS during it.

He also saw the attack as a form of jihad and intended to kill himself afterwards, believing he would die a martyr.

He also hoped to honour what he regarded as the "first ISIS member in Singapore" through the attack.

Wanting to mimic Columbine High School shooter Dylan Klebold’s outfit, the youth took to an e-commerce site to search for tactical apparel to wear during the attack.

In January 2026, he drafted a 21-page manifesto detailing his plans.

The manifesto contained neo-Nazi and far-right symbols and glorified mass shooters whom he idolised.

He titled it "A Call to Action" and intended it to encourage other bullied youths to respond to their grievances with violence.

He planned to disseminate it on social media a day before the attack.

Someone at his school eventually noticed signs of his radicalisation and alerted the authorities.

The youth admitted that he would have carried out the attack had he not been arrested.

Threat of youth radicalisation in Singapore

ISD said the three youths "harboured a strong resolve to enact violence and were at varying stages of their attack plans and preparations at the point of their arrests".

All three had identified easily available weapons, including bladed weapons, for their intended attacks and had sought information online about making explosives.

Dangers of violent and extremist material online

The cases highlight how violent and extremist material can be easily accessed online, ISD said.

Repeated exposure to graphic violence and violent games that recreate or glorify terror attacks and mass shootings can normalise violence among youths and make them more receptive to extremist narratives, it added.

This can also make them more receptive to extremist narratives, priming them for radicalisation.

The youths were also able to find information online that helped them develop their violent plans, highlighting the dangers and ready accessibility of violent and extremist material online.

Tan is also the first self-radicalised individual dealt with under the ISA to have attempted cyberattacks in furtherance of his extremist beliefs.

ISD said the ready availability of online resources, including malware and hacking tools, could facilitate cyberattacks.

The authorities have and will continue to block access to terrorist websites, ISD said.

However, tackling harmful extremist content online requires a whole-of-society effort, it added.

The government will continue working with community partners on outreach efforts to raise public awareness of the threat of radicalisation.

Public and parental vigilance can also help guard against youths' exposure to violent extremist content online.

Extremist threats becoming more diverse

The cases also show that the extremist threat extends beyond ISIS ideology.

The 14-year-old was exposed to anti-Semitic, accelerationist and racial supremacist beliefs in addition to ISIS propaganda.

He is the third individual to have been radicalised by CoVE, and the first detention involving CoVE ideologies.

ISD said individuals radicalised by CoVE may have a shallow understanding of different extremist ideologies, and their support for these ideologies may be fluid.

However, the threat they pose is no less severe.

Such individuals may have more potential triggers for violence because they subscribe to multiple extremist ideologies, which can cause them to escalate quickly from radicalised beliefs to violent action, ISD said.

Public reminded to be vigilant

ISD reminded members of the public to remain vigilant to signs that someone around them may have become radicalised and to seek help from the authorities early.

Early reporting can allow the individual to receive the help they need and keep society safe.

In some cases, early intervention can also allow the individual to be managed without the use of the ISA.

The three youths will undergo a holistic rehabilitation programme addressing their religious or ideological misconceptions, as well as psychological and social vulnerabilities.

ISD will also work closely with their families and schools to facilitate their continued studies while they are in detention.

It also reiterated that anyone is susceptible to radicalisation, and urged the public to stay alert to warning signs and report concerns early.

Possible signs of radicalisation include:

• Displaying symbols of extremist or terrorist groups (eg. using a Hamas flag as a social media photo);
• Frequently visiting radical websites;
• Posting or sharing extremist views online, including support for terrorists or the use of violence;
• Sharing extremist views with friends and family;
• Making remarks that stoke hatred toward other races, religions or communities;
• Expressing intent to take part in violence, locally or abroad; and/or
• Inciting others to violence.

Anyone who knows or suspects a person has been radicalised, or is involved in terrorism-related activities, should contact ISD at 1800-2626-473.