Hyderabad: The ISIS operators arrested in the city on Friday had plans to get imprisoned Yasin Bhatkal of the Indian Mujahideen freed.
Yasin Bhatkal had claimed that he would be released from jail by the ISIS. Police now believes that he was banking on the Armar brothers and their network in India.
A top intelligence official said, "Nafees Khan is the key man behind procuring explosives substances like ammonium nitrate, gunpowder, nuts and bolts, pipes, jihadi literature and also organising the three suspects who were arrested from the city. He was the de facto head of the ISIS in the city."
The officer said Nafees, who is married and has children, was in touch with his Mumbai handler Mudabbir Mushtaq who is the Indian head of the group. There is another suspect from Uttar Pradesh who has an important place in the hierarchy.
Nafees came in touch with Mudabbir and Yousuf online. Mudabbir, 33, a software engineer, took the name of Abu Musab, after Abu Musab Al Zarqawi who is credited with launching the ISIS.
Police said Nafees received funds for terror operations in the city from Mudabbir.
Yousuf is believed to have fled to Syria and he was involved in several blasts prior to 2013 and was named in a NIA charge sheet. Yousuf radicalised all the 13 youths including the four from Hyderabad online, police said.
"Yousuf alias Shafi Armar was recruiting youths from India and Hyderabad was a potential recruitment ground," said an intelligence officer.
The suspects were in touch with Yousuf for one to two years. Yousuf had a brother, Sultan Armar, who died in Syria along with Adilabad Mancherial resident Waseem in March 2015.
After the death of Sultan Armar, his brother Shafi took the name Yousuf and took over the Ansar ul Tawhid (AuT), an offshoot of the Indian Mujahideen and joined ISIS.
Sultan Armar figures in the Dilsukhnagar bomb blast charge sheet where he chatted with Yasin Bhatkal who is accused number 5 in the Hyderabad twin blast case.
The NIA in its Dilsukhnagar charge sheet said Sultan met all the accused of the twin blasts and was closely associated with Yasin Bhatkal.
From July 22, 2013, till August 26, Yasin Bhatkal chatted with Sultan using the ID farafe546@yahoo.com.
Yasin was arrested and is lodged at the Cherlapally jail. Intelligence agencies said several absconding terror suspects of IM have joined ISIS.
