In a major crackdown, the National Investigation Agency conducted search operations at 17 locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in connection with a new ISIS module styled as ‘Harkat ul Harb e Islam’. Informing about the operations, NIA IG Alok Mittal said that the module was in an advanced stage of carrying out a series of blasts. Ten people have been arrested in the raids, Mittal said.
He further said that the searches were conducted in Delhi’s Seelampur and Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha, Hapur, Meerut and Lucknow. During the operation, large quantities of explosive material, weapons and 150 rounds of ammunition including a country made rocket launcher have been recovered.
The agency has also recovered Rs 7.5 lakh cash, nearly 100 mobile phones, 135 SIM cards, laptops and memory cards. According to the report, some of the searches are still underway. “After initial interrogation of the 16 suspects, we have decided to arrest 10 accused,” Mittal said in a press conference.
According to the agency, their targets were political persons, security installations, and security personals. Speaking on funding, the IG said: “Largely it was a self-funding where some of the suspects sold gold to buy ammunition and other weapons.”
“Level of preparation suggests their aim was to carry out explosions in near future by remote control blasts and fidayeen attacks. This is a new ISIS-inspired module, they were in touch with foreign handlers. Identities are yet to be established,” NIA IG said.
According to IG Mital, the main accused in the case is Amroha-based Maulvi. The suspected used Whatsapp and Telegram for internal communication.
