The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested four suspected ISIS terrorists at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
Gujarat: 4 ISIS terrorists from Sri Lanka arrested at Ahmedabad airport. Gujarat: 4 ISIS terrorists from Sri Lanka arrested at Ahmedabad airport.
The ATS, in a brief note, said the four accused, who were arrested at the airport, were Sri Lankan citizens and Islamic State terrorists, reported PTI.
The Gujarat ATS has taken the suspects to a secret location for intensive questioning, according to TV9 Gujarati. The exact reason for their presence at the Ahmedabad airport is not clear.
The terrorists reportedly reached Ahmedabad via Chennai from Sri Lanka. They were in touch with Pakistani handlers, according to local media reports.
In March, two top ISIS leaders in India were arrested near the international border after crossing over from Bangladesh. The arrested ISIS members were identified as Harish Ajmal Farooqi alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi, from Dehradun in Uttarakhand, and Anurag Singh alias Rehan, from Panipat in Haryana.
"They had furthered the cause of ISIS in India through plans to carry out recruitment, terror funding, and terror acts by means of IEDs at several places across India," the police official said. According to the STF, several cases were registered against these two by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), New Delhi and ATS, Lucknow.
In October last year, Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama, a suspected ISIS terrorist on the NIA's most wanted list, was arrested by the Delhi Police during a major crackdown by the anti-terror agency. Shahnawaz was wanted in the Pune ISIS module case and the NIA had offered a reward of ₹3 lakh for credible information leading to his arrest.
