The Home Affairs Ministry said Mohamed Ellias Mohamed Khan and Ja'afar bin Mistooki had been cooperated in the investigations and shown significant progress in rehabilitation, and no longer posed a security threat that required detention.

The ministry said in a statement that the pair were released in January, after being arrested in December 2001 for their "involvement in the JI's plans to mount terrorist attacks against several targets in Singapore".

It didn't give any more details or why the announcement of the release was made now.

JI, which wants to create an Islamic state in Southeast Asia, has carried out a series of attacks in Indonesia including the 2002 bomb attacks on Bali nightclubs that killed 202 people.

Singapore, a strong US ally and a major base for Western businesses, sees itself as a prime target in the region and has said it foiled JI plots in 2001 to attack various Western-linked sites, including the US embassy.

But the government admitted a "security lapse" led to the escape of an alleged militant, accused of planning an attack on Singapore's airport and being the head of a Singapore JI group, from the toilet of a detention centre in February last year.

                                                      Home