“What I’m going to be setting out today is clearly how the UK proposes to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK, and see the rights of UK citizens living in Europe protected,” May said as she arrived at the two-day meeting of EU leaders.

“That’s been an important issue, we’ve wanted it to be one of the early issues that was considered in the negotiations, that is now the case, that work is starting.

“We will be setting out how we propose to ensure that EU citizens living in the UK have their rights protected in the United Kingdom.”

May’s spokesman earlier said that she would set out the principles of her plan over dinner with other EU leaders on Thursday evening.

EU officials said they had however asked her not to bring up the issue, saying all talks should be conducted by official EU and British negotiators Michel Barnier and David Davis, and not by national leaders.

The fate of an estimated three million Europeans currently living in Britain and around one million Britons living elsewhere in the EU was thrown into doubt by Britain’s vote to leave the bloc last year.

May had previously refused to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in Britain until those of expatriate Britons were secured.

The issue of citizens rights is one of three priorities in the Brexit talks which began on Monday, along with Britain’s divorce bill and the fraught question of Northern Ireland, which will share Britain’s only land border with the EU after Brexit.

May said the talks had made a “very constructive start”.

“We will be setting out how we propose to ensure that EU citizens living in the UK have their rights protected in the United Kingdom,” she said as she arrived for the two-day meeting with other EU leaders.

Analysts say move could embolden foreign fighters to carry out attacks here.

Singapore has been identified by supporters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group as part of its “East Asia wilayah” or state, a move that analysts say could embolden foreign fighters to carry out attacks here.

The Republic was among the countries or territories singled out on social media as part of the wilayah – a development flagged by senior analyst Jasminder Singh in a paper published by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies last week. The others are Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, southern Thailand, Myanmar and Japan.

“For foreign fighters coming into the region, this gives them an idea of what they will be in for, and what the targets are,” Mr Singh told The Straits Times yesterday.

He had noticed “chatter on social media” this month singling out specific countries as part of the wilayah, which could be the first time this has been done.

Other security analysts say this could embolden self-radicalised individuals to carry out attacks here, if they are unable to travel to the Middle East to fight.

The development comes as the terrorism threat facing Singapore is at the highest level in recent years, and the country sees a steady trickle of self-radicalised individuals.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that two Singaporean auxiliary police officers were arrested for terrorism-related offences under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

One of them, Muhammad Khairul Mohamed, 24, was detained for planning to travel to Syria to fight against the Syrian government.

Last week, MHA also announced that infant care assistant Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, 22, was planning to travel to Syria with her child to become a “martyr’s widow”, fighting for ISIS.

Experts had warned last year that ISIS would want to create a wilayah, or state, in South-east Asia as it loses territory in the Middle East.

Dr Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, noted that the exact territorial boundaries of the wilayah in East Asia are unconfirmed, as ISIS has not made an official declaration.

But he added that it would probably include parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Dr Gunaratna said: “The growth of the ISIS threat in Singapore’s immediate neighbourhood presents a threat to security and stability here.”

In his paper, Mr Singh had discussed the security implications of the ongoing Marawi City siege in Mindanao, where Philippine forces are fighting to retake the city from ISIS-affiliated militants. The attacks there could “motivate other groups” in the region to carry out similar strikes in the region, he wrote.

Mr Remy Mahzam, associate research fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, said an indication of the boundaries of a future wilayah could prompt self- radicalised individuals who face difficulty in travelling to Syria to carry out attacks in the region instead.

This danger is especially relevant in the light of the recent ISA arrests of individuals planning to travel to Syria to fight, he said.

Associate Professor Antonio Rappa, who heads the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ management and security studies programme, said Singapore should be more worried about attacks by “lone wolves and small groups of terrorists”, who could enter the country from Malaysia or Indonesia.

He pointed out that developments in the region that catch media attention – such as the attacks in Marawi – would “increase the confidence level” of would-be terrorists.

An MHA spokesman told The Straits Times that security agencies are closely watching the situation in Marawi, as developments there could have “serious ramifications” for Singapore’s safety and security.

She added that agencies are on the lookout for attempts by militants to use Singapore as a point of transit to go to Marawi and join the insurgency there.

“We will also deal firmly with any Singaporean who attempts to make his or her way to the conflict zones to join in the armed violence,” said the spokesman.

The stabbing at Bishop International Airport, in the city of Flint, comes amid a wave of jihadist-inspired attacks in Europe, most recently a foiled bomb assault at a train station in Belgium.

US officials identified the suspected assailant, who is in custody and cooperating with investigators, as a 49-year-old Canadian resident from Quebec named Amor Ftouhi.

“We’re investigating this incident today as an act of terrorism,” FBI special agent David Gelios told a news conference, detailing Ftouhi’s actions on Wednesday morning based on security camera footage.

Ftouhi was seen lingering with luggage around the airport’s non-secured public areas, including at a second-floor restaurant and a bathroom, before pulling out a 12-inch serrated-blade knife, yelling “Allahu Akbar” — “God is greatest” in Arabic — and stabbing an officer in the neck, police said.

During the attack, Ftouhi “referenced killings in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan,” according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

He also expressed “hatred for the United States” during questioning in custody, Gelios said.

“He was cooperative and has talked to us about what his motivations were,” he added.

The injured officer was identified as Jeff Neville, a 16-year airport police force veteran.

Neville wrestled Ftouhi to the ground during the assault until others could arrest him, police said. He was hospitalized and is in a stable condition.

“Lieutenant Neville never stopped fighting until I handcuffed this person,” airport police chief Christopher Miller said.

No passengers were harmed in Wednesday’s assault, Bishop International officials said. The airport was evacuated and remained closed until 5 pm (2100 GMT).

Ftouhi faces charges of committing an act of violence at an airport, and is expected to appear at a federal court in Flint.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that an attack on law enforcement would be “investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“President Trump has prioritized the safety of all law enforcement officers, and this Department of Justice is committed to that goal,” he said.

– US, Canada probe attack –

Ftouhi’s Canadian citizenship led to joint operations in Canada and the US, as authorities probed the incident.

Canadian media reported that police searched Ftouhi’s home in Montreal and made three arrests in connection with the attack.

Police had cordoned off the four-story building where Ftouhi reportedly lives, in the Rosemont area of Montreal.

Local television footage showed three people, their faces concealed by blankets, being led away by Canadian gendarmes and provincial police officers.

“We are investigating all of the details,” said Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. “Obviously Canada condemns this heinous and cowardly attack.”

Since the US investigation is ongoing, “it is impossible for us to confirm or identify any suspects whatsoever,” added Montreal police spokesman Benoit Boisselle.

Ftouhi legally entered the United States in Lake Champlain, New York on June 16, Gelios said.

“We’re trying to develop further information as to his timeline and where he went after he entered the United States,” he said.

– ‘Understanding and tolerance’ –

Flint is near the Detroit area, home to a large Muslim-American community. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder responded to news of a possible link to terrorism by sounding a note of caution.

“Even with this attack, we must continue to balance our need for increased security with understanding and tolerance,” Snyder tweeted.

The stabbing comes the day after a suspect with apparent jihadist sympathies set off a bomb in a foiled attack at a Brussels train station.

A day earlier in Paris, a suspected Islamist on a terror watch list rammed a car laden with weapons into a police vehicle, and a man drove a van into a group of Muslims near a London mosque.

In the United States, an attack attributed to anger over politics seriously wounded top Republican congressman Steve Scalise week, when a rifle-wielding critic of President Donald Trump opened fire on lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game.

In this latest incident, the FBI’s Gelios said the Flint attacker was unknown to authorities.

“Preliminary indications are we had no visibility on this individual,” he said.

Five civilians who were used as human shields were missing, and soldiers were pursuing the assailants who had quickly retreated, military spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla told reporters in Manila.

Padilla said the gunmen attacked a military outpost at daybreak in Pigkawayan, a farming town about 160 kilometres (100 miles) from Marawi city where fighters linked to the Islamic State (IS) group have been battling troops for a month.

The attack could be a diversionary tactic to ease pressure on the militants in Marawi, local police commander Chief Inspector Realan Mamon said on radio.

Padilla said the attackers belonged to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), one of four armed groups in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao that analysts say have pledged allegiance to IS.

He said the gunmen attacked the lightly defended outpost, then exchanged fire with troops.

“It’s already resolved. The enemy has withdrawn… they failed,” Padilla said, adding that troops were in pursuit of the militants.

Local authorities initially reported the gunmen had occupied a school before students arrived.

But Padilla made no mention of any incident at the school.

The area around Pigkawayan is made up of marshlands, mountains and farmlands.

Padilla said there were no confirmed casualties but the military had yet to locate the five people initially used as human shields.

Pigkawayan town mayor Eliseo Garsesa said about 200 gunmen were involved, while a police report said there were about 300.

Padilla said the BIFF, a small insurgent group believed to have just a few hundred fighters, had seemingly sought to capitalise on the military being focused on the Marawi war.

“By and large they are just taking advantage… of the situation that we have a very slightly defended outpost and that they think our forces are elsewhere in the province,” Padilla said.

– Hardline groups –

Muslim rebels have been fighting for more than four decades for an independent or autonomous region in the south of the mainly Catholic nation, with the conflict claiming more than 120,000 lives.

The major rebel organisations have signed, or are pursuing, peace deals with the government, but small hardline groups such as the BIFF have vowed to continue fighting.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law across the southern region of Mindanao on May 23 immediately after fighters flying the IS flag rampaged through Marawi.

Their assault on Marawi ignited an unprecedented urban war that has claimed hundreds of lives and which Duterte has warned is part of an IS campaign to establish a base in Mindanao.

The fighting has left Marawi, the most important Muslim city in the Philippines, largely in ruins.

The militants involved in the Marawi fighting are mostly from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf organisations, which have united with the BIFF under the IS umbrella, according to the government.

The military has said foreign fighters, including those from Chechnya, Indonesia and Malaysia, have also joined the Marawi conflict.

IS has ambitions of setting up a caliphate in Southeast Asia — home to largely Muslim nations like Indonesia and Malaysia — as the group loses territory in Iraq and Syria.

Garsesa, the town mayor, said local authorities had received text messages over the past several days about an attack somewhere in the area.

The BIFF was blamed for attacking at least nine Mindanao towns in 2008, with the assaults claiming about 400 lives and forcing 600,000 people to flee their homes.