Singapore calls for vigilance after "rocket attack" plot foiled
BATAM ( REUTERS)- Singapore called for heightened vigilance today, a day after Indonesian police arrested a group of men they believed were plotting a rocket attack on the wealthy city- state with the help of a Syrian- based Islamic State militant.
The six suspected militants were rounded up on Friday in dawn raids on Batam island, which is about 15 km ( 10 miles) south of Singapore, and local police chief Sam Budigusdian said they were still being held there while investigations continued.
Singapore's home affairs minister, K. Shanmugam, said the men had plans to hit Marina Bay, the state's glittering downtown waterfront, where night- time Formula One Grand Prix Races are held alongside a giant ferris wheel and a swanky casino resort.
“This shows how our enemies are thinking of different ways of attacking us,” Shanmugam said in a Facebook posting.
“Terrorists ... will seek to come in through our checkpoints; they will also try to launch attacks from just outside. And this is in addition to lone wolf attacks from radicalised individuals/groups. We have to be extra vigilant.” Batam is linked to Singapore by frequent ferries and its beach resorts and golf courses are a popular weekend getaway destination for Singaporeans, who are preparing to celebrate their National Day holiday on Tuesday.
Multi-ethnic Singapore, a major commercial, banking and travel hub that is home to many Western expatriates, has never seen a successful attack by Islamist militants.
However, authorities did break up a plot to bomb several embassies soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and a Singaporean militant was accused of plotting to crash a hijacked plane into the city's airport in 2002.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said this week Singapore was a target for Islamic State because it is “a rational, open, cosmopolitan country” even though it is not involved in the US-led campaign against the group in the Middle East.