SINGAPORE (AP) -- Singaporean security forces searched Thursday for an escaped terror suspect who allegedly plotted to crash a plane into Singapore's airport, authorities said.
Mas Selamat Kastari, said to be commander of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group's Singapore arm, escaped Wednesday from a detention center. He was allegedly involved in plans about seven years ago to attack Singapore targets including the U.S. Embassy, the American Club and government buildings.
"Mas Selamat was the leader of the Singapore (Jemaah Islamiyah) network. He walks with a limp and is presently at large," the Home Affairs Ministry said in a statement. "Extensive police resources have been deployed to track him down."
Wong Kan Seng, the Home Affairs minister, said Ms Selamat escaped after being granted permission to go to the bathroom while waiting in a room where he was to visit with his family.
"This should never have happened," said Wong who is also the deputy prime minister. "I am sorry that it had. An independent investigation is under way and we should not speculate on what and how it happened."
Security breaches are virtually unheard of in Singapore, a small and densely populated island whose sophisticated but unobtrusive intelligence system has been liberally used to ensure order and security.
Dozens of riot police trucks were parked along main roads near the Whitley Road Detention Center, from which Mas Selamat escaped. Hundreds of police officers and military personnel fanned out in the area, setting up roadblocks to check passing cars.
Several riot police trucks were parked along main roads near the Whitley Road Detention Center, from which Mas Selamat escaped. Dozens of police officers checked passing cars.
Singapore, a close ally of the United States, was named as an al-Qaida target in a transcript from alleged al-Qaida operative Khalid Sheikh Mohamed's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, held last year at the U.S. military detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The ministry said Mas Selamat also plotted to hijack an airplane and crash it into Singapore's main airport, Changi, in retaliation for the country's arrest and detention of some of his fellow Jemaah Islamiyah members in a crackdown on the militant group's operatives here. The alleged schemes were never carried out.
Mas Selamat left Singapore in December 2001 following the arrests of nearly 40 other suspected Jemaah Islamiyah members.
The ministry's Web site said Indonesian authorities detained him in February 2003 on charges related to possession of falsified identification documents. They deported him to Singapore in February 2006, the ministry said.
Mas Selamat has since been held in custody under Singapore's Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.
Since 2002, Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for a series of terror attacks that killed more than 250 people, most of them in Indonesia. Scores of its suspected operatives have been arrested across Southeast Asia since 2000.
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2 down...5 more to go..

'll probably post when everythings finished..
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haiz...tests are coming up..bio test jus ended, n i found it quite difficult..

busy. busy. busy..
i have been going home at 7 plus everyday...

haiz..
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haiz..in a blink of an eye, cny is over..

back to studying again..

haha..since the us presidental election is interesting, lets talk bout it..

i tink obama will win..but others think hillary will win.

eugene did a poll wif 2m guys n more ppl tink obama will win! haha

so far hillary is leading by a bit.. but the obama votes is increasing more than hillary..

lets wait n see...
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happy new yr..XD
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these few days i havent been to sch..yay

went for some research thing at a star..it turns out quite fun. or vry fun.
our bench n bench 2 are vry bonded..we played lots of lame games..talked lame jokes..
haha. it turns out to be a chatting session cos the experiments were simple and we have lots of time to do so..

haha. got 1 girl from rgs called stuti..then damn funny cos it rhymes with stupid n everyone calls her stupid..n somehow the came out wif a nickname for me called jelly..lol.

so sad tmr its the last day..but maybe we going out for lunch then prob got one outing n tts it..:(

anw, HAPPY NEW YEAR in advanced (:
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haha. today got first 14th slc combined meeting..

so first was ice breakers.. didnt really need much effort cos we were playing vry happily after lyk 20mins or so..

then senior sharing session..then own discussion..

it ran quite smoothly..

hope 14SLC will be a SUCCESS XD
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