August 09, 2016

'Rocket attack' threat highlights terror risk faced by prosperous Asia

By Patrick M. Cronin

News of a plot to launch a rocket from Indonesia's Batam towards Singapore's glitzy Marina Bay area offers insight into the evolving terrorism threat to Asia.

Indonesian counterterrorism forces quashed the plot last Friday with the arrest of six members of a local extremist group, Katibah Gigih Rahmat (KGR), known for smuggling militants into Syria to fight for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). One was later released because he had no links to the cell.

Police said the leader of the cell, Gigih Rahmat Dewa, planned the rocket attack with Syria-based Indonesian militant Bahrun Naim. Bahrun officially pledged himself to ISIS in 2014, and travelled to Syria last year.

 

To read the full article, visit The Straits Times website. 

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