3 held in Singapore for links to militant groups

Singapore has detained three men suspected of involvement in "terrorism-related activities", the government said on Monday, a day after the United States marked the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

The three were detained between January and July under the city-state's Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial.

Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement that two of the men were members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a radical Muslim group behind several attacks in Indonesia including the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings.

One of the two, Samad bin Subari, was described as a pioneer member of the Singapore JI network who had trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2001. Samad was arrested by Indonesian police in June 2009 and deported to Singapore in June this year.

The third man belonged to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a group active in the southern Philippines.

Singapore on Monday also said it had released a man who was first detained under the Internal Security Act in January 2002.

Militants have long had wealthy, pro-West Singapore in their sights. In July, Indonesian anti-terrorism officials said they arrested 11 people suspected of planning an attack on the city-state's embassy in Jakarta.

JI planned multiple attacks on Singapore in December 2001 but were thwarted by security officials.