ISIS cell is busted in Hyderabad
On June 29, officials from the National Investigation Agency, swooped down on the city of Hyderabad and detained at least 11 people for alleged ISIS links. But the raids also revealed how the terror group had reached deep into India’s neighbourhoods. Chief suspects — Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani alias Ibbu, Habeeb Mohammed alias Sir, Mohammed Ilyas Yazdani, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Amoodi and Muzaffar Hussain Rizwan — were arrested after searches across 10 locations in the city.
Arrested are well-educated men
Mohd Iliyas Yazdani, 24, is a graduate in Computer Applications. His elder brother, Ibrahim Yazdani, is an engineering graduate and the two learned to prepare explosives with the help of training manuals found online. They were allegedly recruited by key ISIS man Shafi Armar, a former Indian Mujahideen operative based out of Syria.
City-wide disruption
The men were not just planning to bomb a few sites. According to reports, the accused had planned “mass killings” in the city on July 2. They had also procured explosives to wreak havoc across multiple locations.
“They had purchased firearms and explosives from Maharashtra and other chemicals like urea and Hydrogen Peroxide in Hyderabad. They had gloves, masks, electronic balance and other material to make IEDs. They were ready to strike,” said an official from the NIA.
A particularly dangerous explosive
But worryingly, cops are baffled with the seizure of Hydrogen Peroxide from the suspects. Suicide bombers, who had carried out the Paris attacks of 2015 had used an unstable explosive called Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP), which can be made from Hydrogen Peroxide. TATP explosives are very difficult to detect with scanners. Six of the 11 people who were arrested by the NIA were released on Wednesday night after no evidence was found against them. One arrest was a case of mistaken identity.
