The five had cooperated with authorities on investigations into the militant group and had responded well to "religious rehabilitation," the government said in a statement released Friday, Jun 30.

"They are assessed to no longer pose a security threat to Singapore," the Ministry of Home Affairs said. It did not say when the five were detained.

Jemaah Islamiyah is suspected of carrying out terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia, including deadly bombings in Bali in 2002 that killed 202 people, most of them foreigners.

Singapore identified the five released as Azman bin Jalani, Faiz Abdullah Ashiblie, Habibullah bin Hameed, Zulkifli bin Mohamed Jaffar and Faiz bin Abu Bakar Bafana.

The government also identified five Singaporean members of Jemaah Islamiyah still in custody who were detained between March and May this year as part of an operation against the group's local network.

The five include Mas Selamat bin Kastari, leader of the local network who fled Singapore in December 2001 following the arrests of other Jemaah Islamiyah members. Indonesia deported him to Singapore in February this year.

He was involved in plans to attack targets such as the US Embassy, the American Club and Singapore government buildings, and continued to plot even after leaving Singapore, authorities said.

"Specifically, he plotted to hijack an airplane in order to crash it into (Singapore's) Changi Airport," the home affairs ministry said in its statement. "When his initial attempt to do so was thwarted, he continued to believe in the feasibility of the plan and intended to pursue it in the future when the opportunity presented itself."

Another of those detained is Mohamed Rashid bin Zainal Abidin, a JI operative who had military training in Mindanao in the Philippines, the ministry said. He had also left Singapore in 2001, and was involved in the plans to crash a plane into Singapore's international airport.

Other detainees are Muhamad Ismail bin Anuwarul, Abdul Rashid bin Anwarul and Abdul Nassir bin Anwarul, the government said. Abdul Nassir and Muhamad Ismail had undergone military training in Mindanao and Afghanistan respectively, it said.

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