SINGAPORE (AFP) - - A Singaporean man on trial in
Indonesia for plotting terror attacks has said he plotted to crash
a plane into the island-state's Changi Airport, the Straits Times
reported Wednesday.
The plan was aborted when Thai authorities became aware of it,
he told the newspaper from a court lock-up in Indonesia on
Tuesday.
"We wanted to do it out of anger
with Singapore for being an ally of the United States for what it
did in Afghanistan," said Hassan, also an alleged member of
the Southeast Asia-based Islamic militant group JI.
"What I was trying to do was to
defend Islam and Muslims."
The Straits Times said this was the first time an alleged
extremist linked to the JI has admitted planning to carry out an
attack on Changi Airport, a regional aviation hub.
Singaporean authorities had previously said that JI members
including Mas Selamat planned to crash a plane into Changi Airport
in 2001.
Hassan was one of ten suspected JI members who went on trial
Tuesday in Indonesia for plotting attacks against foreigners and
Christian priests in the country.
According to the charge sheet, he received military training in
Afghanistan around 2000 and met Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden.
Mas Selamat, the alleged Singapore leader of JI, escaped from a
tightly guarded detention facility in the city-state last year and
remains at large.
Singapore is a close ally of the United States in the
"war against terror" and
officials have said the island-state is a top target for
extremists.
An angry man who use his religion as an excuse to do bad things
!!!
