SINGAPORE – Photos of Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, the first woman in Singapore to be detained under the Internal Security Act for radicalism, have emerged online.

A profile photo of the 22-year-old infant care assistant, who wanted to join the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and become a “martyr’s widow”, was found on a professional networking website. She was listed as having worked as an administrative assistant for three local companies since 2012.

Photos of Izzah, who had been working at a People’s Action Party Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkletots preschool, were first posted online on Monday (June 12) by the self-styled online vigilante group, SMRT Feedback by The Vigilanteh.

The bulk of her social media activity on Facebook and Instagram, however, appeared to have been deleted.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement on Monday (June 12) that Izzah started becoming radicalised in 2013, at the age of 18. She was influenced by online propaganda related to the IS terrorist group and had actively posted and shared pro-IS materials online.

Several of her social media platforms were taken down by site administrators because of the pro-IS content but she created new ones. In April, Izzah even boasted to a contact that the authorities in Singapore had not detected her.

She supported the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's (ISIS) use of violence and aspired to live in it. She was actively planning to make her way to Syria, with her young daughter in tow.

Believing that she would reap “heavenly rewards” if she married an IS fighter who died in battle, she was looking for “a Salafi or an ISIS supporter” to marry since 2015, and planned to settle down with him and her child in Syria.

She also felt with her “elevated status” as a “martyr’s widow”, she could easily marry another ISIS fighter in Syria. Izzah was also prepared to undergo military training and engage in armed combat for the extremist group.

Over time, she became more radicalised and developed a “wide” network of foreign contacts online, some of whom were IS militants and supporters who have been killed in Syria or have been arrested for terrorism-related activities, said the ministry.

The ministry did not reveal how Izzah’s activities were discovered but said her parents and sister had known of her radical online postings and intention of joining IS in Syria. They tried to dissuade her but were not successful, the MHA said, reiterating its call for the community and family members to help protect Singapore from the threat of terrorism.