Bangladesh rules out IS, al-Qaeda links with Singapore arrestees

Bangladeshi police on Thursday claimed they did not find any link of the 26 Bangladeshi workers deported from Singapore over allegations of links with the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda.

"We did not find involvement of Bangladeshis arrested in Singapore with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda," Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the Detective Branch (DB), told reporters on Thursday.

"Fourteen of the 26 Bangladeshis deported by Singapore are supporters of local militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team," he said.

"We've not found any evidence linking them to international militant outfits."

The DB spokesman came up with the statement a day after Singapore published a list of the 27 arrestees, of whom 26 have been deported to Bangladesh.

Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press release on Wednesday that the arrested Bangladeshis supported the armed jihad ideology of terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

According to the press release, the 27 male Bangladeshis, all working in the construction industry in Singapore, were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) between Nov. 16 and Dec. 1 last year.

All work passes of the 27 were cancelled, and 26 have been repatriated to Bangladesh, among which, 14 have been arrested in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday wrote on his facebook that Singapore is tightening up security, and acting to protect its racial and religious harmony.

"Radicalization and terrorism must never take root in Singapore, " he wrote.