SINGAPORE — The eight Bangladeshi workers arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for forming the Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB) had a list of targets with at least 13 categories of people and agencies in their homeland, including the police, senior government leaders, and “disbelievers” who did not share their religious faith.

The list of targets was found in a document titled “We Need for Jihad Fight” that was seized from the group’s ringleader Rahman Mizanur, who wanted to bring Bangladesh under the caliphate of Islamic State (IS).

Apart from the hit list, material on weapons and bomb making was also found. The cover of the bomb-making material had the text “How to make explosives through action and reaction?”. A manual for the AX50 sniper rifle was also recovered.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the group, which was detained under the ISA last month, had no specific plans to target Singapore. But the ministry added that Rahman, who had been recruiting members since January and set up the ISB in March, had said he would launch an attack anywhere if he was instructed by IS to do so. They were also planning to raise funds to buy firearms.

The Border Guard of Bangladesh, the Rapid Action Battalion and the police topped the list of what the group called “Target of Enimies (sic) Forces Need to Kill”. Military targets also included the Civil Information Defence, the air force and the navy.

Government officials such as Members of Parliament, government officials at general or secretary level, and government leaders were also on the list.

The eight also listed media professionals and “disbelievers”, which they identified as Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, “Nastiks” and “Munafiks”, on their hit list. “Nastiks” and “Munafiks” are derogatory terms used, respectively, to describe atheists and Muslims deemed to be working to undermine their own faith.

The MHA also said on Tuesday (May 3) that as part of investigations into ISB, five other Bangladeshi workers in Singapore were probed under the ISA. No involvement with the ISB was found but the five were found with jihadi-related material or supporting the use of armed violence for a religious cause, and have been repatriated.

In January, it was revealed that 27 Bangladeshi construction workers had been arrested for planning to wage jihad overseas. 

In March, four Singaporeans were dealt with under the ISA for taking part in violence, or planning to take part in armed conflict abroad.

Correction: In an earlier version of this report, we stated that the detainees had drawn up the list of targets. This is incorrect. The list was found on Rahman Mizanur.