Two ISIS-Linked Suspects Arrested In Joint Police Operation
A huge terror attack was foiled in Hyderabad after security agencies caught two suspects who are said to be connected with the Islamic State (ISIS), officials said on Sunday. The suspects, named Siraj Ur Rehman (29) and Syed Sameer (28), were caught in a coordinated intelligence operation by the counterintelligence wings of Andhra Pradesh Police and Telangana Police. The two are said to have planned bomb explosions in strategic locations within Hyderabad.
The two men were suspected of having been working under the instructions of an ISIS module operating in Saudi Arabia, which was providing them with remote instructions. The men had allegedly acquired explosive materials such as ammonia, sulphur, and aluminum powder, which are standard in improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to the authorities.
The crackdown had its beginning with the arrest of Rehman in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh. During his interrogation, Rehman resulted in the arrest of Sameer in Hyderabad shortly after. The two suspects are currently in police custody and will be produced before a local court for further legal proceedings.
Intel reports indicated that Rehman was tasked with procuring the explosive material, while the module overseas was guiding both men on details of operations, purportedly intending to execute coordinated attacks within the city.
This attempted attack follows only weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 civilians were murdered by militants. India’s Operation Sindoor, a cross-border strike on nine terror launch pads located in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), followed as a result of that attack.
Authorities said the thwarting of this latest terror plot underscores the heightened alertness by security organs around the country, particularly following growing threats from foreign terror networks using cyber and transnational networks.
Additional investigation is under way to determine any other connections or potential co-conspirators in India or overseas.
