Singapore deported 26 Bangladeshis Wednesday who were arrested in November for allegedly forming a religious study group that spread the ideology of al-Qaida and of Islamic State.
Twenty-seven Bangladeshi construction workers were detained without trial under the city-state's rigorous Internal Security Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. One of them will remain in Singapore until completing a jail sentence for attempting to leave Singapore illegally after hearing of the arrest of the others.
According to the statement, the Bangladeshis held discreet weekly meetings to share jihadi-related materials and discuss involvement in armed conflicts.
The Bangladeshis' work passes had been revoked and authorities in Bangladesh were informed about their circumstances.
Several members of the group considered carrying out armed violence overseas, but did not plan any attack in Singapore, the ministry said. Some of them had contemplated taking part in armed jihad with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The ministry also said that the group of Bangladeshis supported the teachings of U.S.-born radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011.
