Three Islamic State terrorists arrested during NIA raids in Delhi, Karnataka and Kerala

Three Islamic State terrorists arrested during NIA raids in Delhi, Karnataka and Kerala

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested three persons on Monday during raids at 11 locations in Kerala, Karnataka and Delhi in connection with a new ISIS module that had planned targeted killings in Kerala and Karnataka, an official said.

While main accused Mohammed Ameen alias Abu Yahaya was arrested in Delhi, two others Mushab Anuvar and Dr Rahees Rashid were arrested in Kerala.

NIA said the module wanted to link with Jammu and Kashmir’s ISIS-linked terror groups. A case was registered after intelligence agencies gave inputs of an ISIS-linked group radicalising youth online.

A group of radicalised individuals under Mohammed Ameen alias Abu Yahaya had identified people in Kerala and Karnataka for targeted killing, the official said.

“They had also planned to undertake Hijrat (religious migration) to J&K for terror acts. Further, Mohammed Ameen had travelled to J&K after his return to India from Bahrain in March 2020 and had been camping in Delhi for the last two months for establishing a connection with J&K-based operatives with links to ISIS,” the official added.

The searches were conducted on the premises of accused Mohammed Ameen at Abu Yahaya and his associates who were members of the various groups/channels on encrypted chat platforms.

The searches were preceded by extensive verification jointly by NIA, Special Cell, Delhi Police, and ATS, Kerala Police. NIA with their assistance conducted simultaneous searches at 11 locations including eight in Kerala, two in Bengaluru and one in Delhi, the official said.

During the searches, several digital devices including laptops, mobiles, hard disk drives, pen drives, multiple SIM cards of different service providers and incriminating documents were seized.

Seized exhibits are being scrutinized and will be sent for forensic examination, the official said.

NIA is also investigating if Pakistan is targeting impressionable Muslim youth through social media for online training inciting and attacks.

While three have been arrested, questioning of two more persons is currently underway.

Source: India Today