The Islamic State, the Indian Sub-Continent & its Neighbourhood

[member_29089]

X-post from STFUP-TSP thread

ARY News’ office in Islamabad comes under attack – Daesh (ISIS) Afghanistan claims responsibility
<chop>

Terrorists linked with Daesh Afghanistan Wednesday attacked ARY News Islamabad bureau office with grenade and fired gunshots injuring a non-linear editor, ARY News reported.
<chop>



Global terror outfit Daesh’s Afghanistan chapter claimed responsibility of the attack in the pamphlets ‘in reaction to the channels coverage of ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azb’.

Due to the attack, a non-linear editor (NLE) was injured who was hit by a shrapnel in the head. He was immediately whisked to a hospital for medical attention.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif denounced the attack in strongest words. He directed the authorities to provide security to ARY...

<chop>

Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan arrived at ARY News office that came under attack today.
.....
The PTI chief however said in the presence of National Action Plan (NAP) terrorism and crime has reduced countrywide, and hoped for it to be completely rooted out....

<cut>

They denounced the cowardly attack and reiterated the resolve to rid the country of all terrorists.

Why isn't Imran Khan condemning the attack openly rather than beating about the bush?

because:
in the short term he'd rather get laid (in Londonistan) than get laid (in Kabrastan)
in the long run he'd rather get married than get buried

because IM is not as DIM as we think

[SSridhar]

Govt clueless on 4 Indian youths caught in Syria - The Hindu

The government has no clue about the identity of four Indian youths held in Syria for allegedly planning to join the Islamic State, but suspects that they might have been based in some Gulf countries from where they travelled to Damascus.

Government officials said Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Walid Al Moaulem, who was on a three-day visit to India last week, disclosed that the four youths were taken into custody for allegedly planning to join the IS.

‘Verifying antecedents’

“We have no idea who the youths are, where they originally hail from. We suspect they might have gone from some Gulf countries. We are still verifying their antecedents,” an official said.

During the delegation-level meeting, when the Indian officials asked the Syrian Deputy Prime Minister to give details of the four youths, he was said to have stated that he was not police and did not know the details.Mr. Moaulem had said: “Four Indians were taken into Syrian custody in Damascus. The four young Indians were planning to join the IS and had entered Syria from Jordan.”

Six killed

According to Indian intelligence agencies, a total of 25 Indians have so far joined the IS and six of them have reportedly been killed in different incidents.

The 25 Indians include two absconding members of the banned Indian Mujahideen who had gone from their hideouts in Pakistan.

The deceased were identified as Athif Vaseem Mohammad (Adilabad, Telangana), Mohammad Umar Subhan (Bengaluru, Karnataka), Maulana Abdul Kadir Sultan Armar (Bhatkal, Karnataka), Saheem Farooque Tanki (Thane, Maharashtra), Faiz Masood (Bengaluru, Karnataka) and Mohammad Sajid alias Bada Sajid (Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh).

[sum]

^^ Guess have to thank the ISIS for taking these IM ( Indian muj) scum out of our hands and making them a headache for someone else

[SSridhar]

'ISIS letter' threatens killing PM Modi, Parrikar for banning beef in India - Murari Shetye, ToI

Goa police has started investigations into an anonymous letter signed by ISIS that says the terror outfit will kill PM Narendra Modi and defence minister Manohar Parrikar for banning beef in India.

"Since you are not allowing to eat beef, you will be taken care of," the postcard said while referring to Modi and Parrikar.

The letter was received at the home and general administrative departments.

Speaking to TOI, IGP V Renganathan said that they have initiated an inquiry into the matter. He also said that in the letter it was stated that since you have banned cow killing, we will see you (Modi and Parrikar).

Renganathan confirmed the probe by the anti-terror squad and added that the postcard was posted locally.

Police also said that they have decided to step up Parrikar's security in the state.

(With inputs from IANS)

Looks to me like an amateurish attempt using the IS name for convenience

[SSridhar]

ISIS' growing influence in S-E Asia - Barry Desker, Straits Times

I am posting this because S-E Asia affects the Indian Subcontinent in multiple ways. Besides, at least two Indians have joined IS from Singapore.

Jakarta was rocked by two bomb explosions in its business and shopping district last Thursday, accompanied by an attack on a police post and a Starbucks cafe using improvised grenades and home-made handguns.

Four attackers and four civilians were killed, and more than 20 people injured. The Indonesian police as well as the propaganda machinery of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have claimed that followers of ISIS were responsible. Although the intention was to cause mass casualties like the Paris attacks in November last year, the lack of training and inadequate weapons resulted in minimal damage.

One significant lesson which could be drawn is the importance of developing societal resilience. Ordinary people as well as celebrities and politicians in Jakarta sharply criticised the attacks. Unlike in previous attacks from 2002 to 2009, I received a stream of messages on social media condemning the attacks, drawing attention to the incompetence of the perpetrators, forwarding jokes which undermined the intentions of the attackers and stressing their solidarity with the victims. If the intention was to cause ordinary people to cower in fear, the attackers failed.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Indonesian police chief said the attacks were planned by ISIS in Syria through Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian national. Bahrun is now in Syria but spent a year in jail in 2011 for illegal possession of weapons.

In follow-up raids, 12 people were detained in West Java, East Java and East Kalimantan. Weapons and ammunition were seized. Interrogation of the suspects is now taking place to ascertain if they are linked to the attacks in Jakarta.

For South-east Asians, the ISIS claims of responsibility are significant. A recent study by RSIS (the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies) discussed the establishment of Khatibah Nusantara, a dedicated South-east Asia military unit within ISIS which uses Malay/Bahasa Indonesia as a language for communications and formed a separate fighting unit in Syria.

Khatibah Nusantara captured five Kurd-held territories in April last year. Led by an Emir, identified as Abu Ibrahim al-Indunisiy, the unit appears to be led mainly by Indonesians but Malaysian Malays are also active within the group. This development highlights ISIS' intention of building a regional network intended to support the establishment of a province (wilayah) of ISIS in South-east Asia.

ISIS' RISING INFLUENCE BEYOND THE MIDDLE EAST

The emergence of ISIS and its claims to have established a caliphate have therefore had an impact on South-east Asia. The threat will continue over the next decade. Hence, it is important to understand how ISIS rose to prominence.

The American anti-Baathist policy following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 resulted in the removal of civil servants who had served Saddam's administration as well as the exclusion of military and intelligence officers from the new administration set up in Iraq. This decision is critical in understanding the effectiveness of ISIS in Iraq. Today, former military officers and bureaucrats from Saddam's Iraq are the core of ISIS in Iraq, which controls vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq.

In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad financed, armed and trained Al-Qaeda activists who crossed the border to attack the Americans from 2005 until the American withdrawal from Iraq. Growing numbers of Al-Qaeda supporters pledged allegiance to ISIS following the proclamation of a caliphate by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the establishment of the Islamic State on Ramadan on June 29, 2014.

ISIS now controls significant territory in eastern Syria. American government officials claim that Mr Bashar's forces attacked moderate Muslim oppositionist forces and avoided confronting ISIS. The reality is that ISIS represents the alternative to Mr Bashar's cruel regime but his forces concentrate on the weaker of the forces opposing his regime. An escalating civil war among rival Islamic sects, the Sunnis and the Shi'ites, is taking place and no easy options exist.

One consequence of the failed Western policy in responding to the "Arab Spring" has been the emergence of unstable regimes throughout the Maghreb. With the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who had been domesticated and no longer posed any threat, Libya has now emerged as an arms supermarket for the region and beyond. Besides North Africa, arms from Libya have flowed into the Sahel, increasing the threat from Boko Haram militants.

Even if concerted action by Western powers and their allies results in the re-taking of ISIS-held territories in Iraq and Syria, the idea of the Islamic State has captured the imaginations of sympathisers seeking a return to an imagined pristine way of life in the seventh century. Libya could easily morph into the new centre for the caliphate.

IMPACT ON SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Three conclusions may be drawn regarding the impact of these developments on South-east Asia.

First, trends in the Middle East have exerted a growing influence in recent years. Competition between an Al-Qaeda-offshoot, the Al-Nusra Front, and ISIS, has been replicated in the region. Singaporeans have joined the growing numbers of South-east Asians who have journeyed to Syria and Iraq to participate in the conflict. The claim of the ISIS-proclaimed caliphate to oversight over Muslims around the world has strong emotional appeal and resonates with many Muslims, even in South-east Asia.

While the number of such adherents is small, the willingness to engage in armed attacks and cause mayhem on the streets results in regional governments paying close attention to those influenced by the effective propaganda of ISIS spread on social media.

Although Shi'ite adherents in the region are minuscule, there will be pressure in the region for strong action against Shi'ite Muslims, reflecting the rising tensions between Sunni and Shi'ite in the Middle East.

Such demands will not necessarily be linked to support for ISIS. In Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, government-linked religious institutions have been active in taking action against Shi'ite followers.

While Muslims are a minority in Singapore, for ISIS, Singapore is seen as the heart of the archipelago. When the Al-Qaeda affiliated Jemaah Islamiah earlier developed a network to establish an Islamic state (Darul Islamiah Nusantara) linking Malaysia, Indonesia, southern Philippines and southern Thailand, it included Singapore as the Republic lies at the centre of the region. With the rise of the Islamic State, a more potent threat will exist in the decade ahead.

Second, it would be helpful to recognise that this is not a new threat. The challenge to Muslim religious leaders in the region arising from more radical versions of Islam emerging in response to conditions in the Middle East has been a recurrent theme in South-east Asian history.

In 1803, Wahhabi-inspired returned Minangkabau pilgrims from West Sumatra launched the padri revolts against the traditional elite (uleebalang) and Sufi-inspired leaders in the matriarchal society of West Sumatra.

They attempted to imitate the takeover of Mecca and Medina by an alliance of supporters of a reformist Salafi preacher Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and a local leader Muhammad bin Saud (who later formed the House of Saud in the future Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).

In the 19th and 20th centuries, modernist Muslim teachings were spread by books and periodicals published in Singapore by scholars who had returned from the Middle East who questioned the accommodation which had been made with the more traditional Sufi practices in the region as well as the incorporation of earlier Hindu and animist traditions in local practices. These scholars and religious teachers sought a purification of the religion and a return to the practices of Islam in the golden age of the seventh century.

Third, acts of terrorism and political violence in the region will occur. Governments are now more alert but it will be difficult to eliminate all threats by ISIS followers in the region operating as a clandestine movement.

While there has been a rise of "lone wolf" attacks in the West, attacks in the region have been by organised groups so far. Such attacks will not overthrow governments. If regular attacks occur, there will be a sense of insecurity and a threat to public order. Members of the public will have to get used to a larger police presence, precautionary measures such as the inconvenience of baggage checks and searches of vehicles and the closer monitoring of contacts with religious militants. The use of preventive detention will increase.

These developments will result in a significant increase in expenditure on internal security.

The risk is that governments in Muslim-majority states may adopt policies intended to win over those who view the religious agenda of ISIS positively, even if they disagree with its methods, resulting in increasing religious intolerance in the region.

•The writer is Distinguished Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He was Singapore's Ambassador to Indonesia from 1986 to 1993

[ramana]

SS, I think local Goa politics using IS as cover.

Some outrage in Goa about Portuguese PM of Goa origins.

[deejay]

Terrormonitor.org ‏@Terror_Monitor 1 minute ago
#IslamicState/#ISIS So-Called #Khorasan Province Commander Sees Terror Group Expansion Opportunities In #Kashmir.

While I am not sure, the above is from latest issue of Dabiq, a Daesh (IS) publication.

[deejay]

Terror training and dissemination is getting refined. Some things should raise concern and this is one of them IMO.

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/ba ... re-members



Read the whole article for more insights.

[SSridhar]

ASEAN countries, especially Singapore, are suddenly awakening to measures against IS after the Jakarta attacks last week. The Singapore Foreign Minister K.Shanmugam's recent tough speech, increased armed police presence in the MRT stations, Indonesia's new laws like preventive detention (in the works after the bombing), Malaysia's stepped up security etc are a proof.

[SSridhar]

Islamic State comes to India: Planned to strike Delhi-NCR malls, Kumbh - Raj Shekhar, ToI

Delhi Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of four members of Islamic State (ISIS) aged 19-23, who were in touch with handlers in Syria and Iraq and were planning a terrorist attack ahead of Republic Day at targets such as the Ardh Kumbh in Haridwar and prominent shopping malls of Delhi-NCR like Select Citywalk, Saket; DLF Promenade, Vasant Kunj and the Great India Place in Noida.

The arrests confirmed the presence of ISIS in India for the first time, transforming what was till now a concern into an actual security threat. The ISIS cell members, according to the police, said they were close to preparing IEDs and procuring weapons on the instruction of handlers who they were in touch with over VOIP, WhatsApp and Facebook.

The official word came a day after TOI reported the arrest of three operatives of the terror outfit, which recently staged an attack in Jakarta. The special cell of the Delhi Police announced the arrest of a fourth operative, who was picked up at 1am on Wednesday, and said there was evidence connecting them with ISIS operatives in West Asia.

Among the four arrested, Akhlaq ur Rehman is a third-year engineering student at a polytechnic college in Roorkee area and was picked up by cops just as he was to enter his college to write an exam. Mohammed Osama and Ajiz are doing BA from a local college while Mehraj is pursuing a bachelors in Ayurvedic medicine.

Apart from targeting the Ardh Kumbh in Haridwar on February 8, the ISIS recruits were keen on bombing popular malls that attract thousands of visitors every day. They had even conducted a survey of their intended targets.

The quartet came in touch with ISIS recruiters through Facebook and were subsequently communicating through WhatsApp and Hike, sources said. They were then asked to read up ISIS literature on the internet and the outfit's mouthpieces like Dabiq.

From The Hindu,

Charges false, says brother

Speaking to The Hindu on the phone from Haridwar, Akhlaq’s brother Kamrul Hasan said his brother was innocent.

He dismissed claims that Akhlaq was in touch with those based in Syria.

[SSridhar]

A new set of Bhatkal brothers poses a challenge to country’s security - Raj Shekhar, ToI

When the ISIS chose the Ansar-ut Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind (AuT) as its associate for operations in south Asia, it knew it was making the right choice. The AuT was initially led by two brothers who had left India to fight against it but who then fell apart, but a section of the outfit rose again to become a part of the global jihad with focus on India.

One of the brothers, Shafi Armar, took upon himself to wage a war against India. After the IM members based in Pakistan split in 2013, Indian agencies were certain the threat from the Armar brothers from Bhatkal in Karnataka was over as they had already wiped out modules in India led by Yasin Bhatkal and his deputies. As the ISI kept Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal under their control, there were a few ambitious men from Azamgarh in north India who were smart enough to dodge them.

This was the group comprising Abdul Khader Sultan Armar, his brother Shafi Armar and others. They fled to Afghanistan and Pakistan and became part of the al-Qaida for a while. However, the ambitious men soon ditched Qaida as they believed that only the ISIS would be able to survive in the long run. The AuT, formed in November 2013, soon began flirting with the ISIS. They were quick to associate with the ISIS ideology, unlike the PoK-based outfits. Not just that, AuT members were willing to fight for them as well. The AuT's media wing, al-Isabah productions — supervised by Shafi Armar — posted videos of ISIS chief al-Baghdadi's Friday sermons and was soon "adopted" by the caliphate.

Agencies are wary of the AuT danger as they knew Shahnawaj was capable of reviving his SIMI contacts and carry out terror strikes. Soon, Al-Baghdadi declared Sultan Armar the Amir of AuT. Shafi was more into doing things through the internet — recruitment or communications. AuT first gained prominence when it publicly acknowledged the terrorists killed in Batla House and called them martyrs.

In a series of tweets, it vowed to avenge their deaths.

This was the first time any terrorist group had owned up to the slain terrorists, clearing the air over the encounter. This development, exclusively reported by TOI in September 2014, had the intelligence agencies and special cell mount exhaustive surveillance on their members and track their movements. However, AuT came in the global spotlight when two members — Sultan Armar and Bada Sajid, the man who had escaped Batla House, were killed last year.

ISIS declared them martyrs who fought the US forces.Sultan's brother Shafi took over. However, he turned out to be deadlier and turned back the focus on India. Shafi, who is heading Indian recruitment, is now the biggest threat for the country, agencies accept.

[SSridhar]

In the context of the above post, I would re-post what Shanu had posted in the STFU-TSP thread two months back.

Guys, look what I found.

IS seems to have found a use for Indian Jihadis.. not in Iraq but in Af-Pak.

ISIS would want Indians in Afghanistan instead of Syria or Iraq

[SSridhar]

In this context, I would also re-post my own assessment made in Dec, 2014.

The ISI and the LeT have been facing pressure due to their inability to mount large-scale attacks in India. This led to two top IM (Indian Mujahideen) operatives, Riyaz Bhatkal and Muhammad Ahmad Siddibapa, aka Yasin Bhatkal, to leave the ISI patronage. There appears to have been a serious attempt to get them within the folds of the AQIS. There were news reports about Riyaz Bhatkal meeting a senior AQ leader in Afghanistan. However, recent reports seem to indicate that the IM has moved to the IS. Ansar-ul-Tawhid Fi Bilad Al Hind (AuT), suspected to be the new outfit of the Bhatkals and based in Af-Pak region, released a statement on its twitter handle in English, Hindi and Urdu vowing to avenge the death of two Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists at Batala House in September 2008. The AUT is showing allegiance to the IS. The upsurge in the recruitment of Indian youth to the IS is seen as efforts by the AUT and IM. Thus, the PA/ISI is facing competition in what it used to consider as its backyard, India. Its ability to control the jihadi terror tanzeems is getting frayed all over.

[deejay]

My own analysis (whatever its worth)-

As IS keeps getting hammered in Syria and Iraq, it will move to softer targets. Libya and Maghreb in general will be the place where they will hold territory as also in Afghanistan but where territory holding is not possible IS will morph into independent cells and strike at random. In this form they will be similar to Al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda and IS may also get into turf wars across the globe. This is because the primary feeders to both are the wahabi tanzeems and therefore the source of manpower is identical. Places like Bhatkal in India will be tapped by both organisations.

India as always is under pressure as we have a huge population exposed to radicalisation and poor policing capabilities. The other problem is if Indian IS recruits are able to go to Afghanistan in large numbers then at some point of time it will cause major security issues within India like the Chechens are for Russia.

In the article linked by Shanu, this particular segment caught my attention. If there is poor policing in UP, a lot of radicalised youth could be slipping away under the radar. In the present situation, I do not think UP has good control on Law and Order.

...

The 39 year old Armar a resident of Bhatkal trained at a seminary in Lucknow. He had in fact recently issued a call to the Indian Muslims to join the global jihad. He speaks about the plight of the Indian Muslims and tells them the importance of joining either the ISIS or the Tehrik-e-Taliban.

Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/india/isis-woul ... 29160.html

[SSridhar]

Radicalisation of Bangladeshi workers arrested under ISA dates back to 2013: Singapore - Straits Times

In April 2013, terrorist group Islamic State announced it would expand its operations beyond Iraq as the civil war in Syria worsened.

Around the same time, supporters of radical Bangladesh Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami were engaged in a wave of violence in the country that saw attacks on police and minorities.

That same year, a group of Bangladeshi construction workers in Singapore began a closed religious study group to discuss these conflicts that involved Muslims, and whether they should take up arms.

By the end of last year, their number had grown.

Between Nov 16 and Dec 1 last year, 26 members and another who nearly joined them were arrested under the Internal Security Act, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said yesterday.

Ranging in age from 25 to 40, most had worked in Singapore between two and seven years.

These work permit holders were not concentrated in any particular construction company or workplace, nor were they concentrated in a particular residential area.

But they met every week to discuss taking up arms, and even used the premises of a few local mosques located near where some of them were staying, the ministry said.

Singapore Muslim leaders believe they might have slipped under the radar because quite a number of Bangladeshi workers gather at mosques, especially on weekends, to worship and do volunteer work.

Language poses a significant barrier too: Most Bangladeshi Muslims worship together with other Muslims, but when it comes to discussing religious matters, they are more comfortable using their own language. This group of radicalised men appeared to have taken measures to be discreet about what they discussed.

They circulated hardline material secretly among themselves.

They also carefully targeted fellow Bangladeshis to grow their numbers.

Some even distributed leaflets calling for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, according to Bangladeshi workers interviewed who knew some of them.

Among themselves, they circulated videos of radical preachers as well as footage put out by supporters of terror groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

These show clips of young children undergoing martial arts as well as firearms training in what appear to be conflict zones. In the background are rousing Arabic recitations, also common in videos put out by ISIS to instil fervour among viewers.

The ministry said the members of the group supported the ideology of armed jihad espoused by terror groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

They also had grievances against their government back home over its actions against some Bangladeshi Islamic groups and leaders. The Bangladesh government had clamped down on these groups and detained their leaders.

The members donated money to outfits linked to these groups.

Some also supported the violent actions of extremists who killed Shi'ite Muslims because they considered them to be deviant.

So when this group of Bangladeshi nationals gathered every week, they encouraged members to return home and take up arms against their government.

It appears they went beyond just instilling fervour through videos.

Some members had a soft copy document in Bengali that showed, through graphics, how they could attack a targeted victim and kill him quickly and quietly.

The ministry did not give details of how the group was detected, but many Singaporeans and Bangladeshis yesterday denounced these plans and were relieved they were found out before harm was done.

[SSridhar]

X-Post from STFU-TSP thread

Pakistan A Supplier Of Female Sex Slaves To ISIS
Punjab law minister says Pakistanis fighting alongside I.S. won’t be allowed back home.

Last September, Khalid Cheema went to the police after his wife, Bushra, and their four children went missing from their home in Lahore’s Johar Town. In October, Cheema finally heard from her. “I love God and his religion, and I want to die a martyr’s death,” she said in a chillingly calm, two-minute voice message, a copy of which the Punjab government has provided Newsweek. “If you can’t join us then at least pray your wife and children die in jihad.”

Cheema, who runs a small construction company, is now in police custody for suspected links with the Islamic State, the militant group that his wife has left home to fight for. She is one of “maybe 50 Pakistanis who have left for Syria,” Rana Sanaullah,( so, according to him, everything is " pretty normal ") law minister of the Punjab, tells Newsweek, characterizing reports of rampant I.S. recruitment in Pakistan as overblown. “France has admitted that 1,000 of its citizens have joined I.S., yet no one is accusing France of allowing I.S. to establish a network there.”

Sanaullah, who is leading the drive against I.S. in his province, is determined that Pakistanis fighting alongside I.S. abroad will not be allowed back home. “They ask us, ‘What will you do if these people return to commit terrorist acts on the home soil?’ Let me be clear, these people are never going to be let back into Pakistan.” The minister is taking his lead from his party chief, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has vowed not to allow I.S. to take root in the country.

So, ISI does not want "competition" between its allies (LET,JEM,Al-Qaeda) and the "new kid on the block" ISIS

But by all accounts, I.S. has supporters in Pakistan. Graffiti, banners and agitprop literature in support of I.S. have been appearing and reappearing in several cities, including Lahore, for over a year now, and a number of local militant groups and radical organizations, including Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, have pledged their support to I.S. and its self-proclaimed caliph.

Three women and 12 children from Lahore are currently missing and assumed to be working with I.S.,” a senior police officer in Lahore tells Newsweek on condition of anonymity. According to police, the three women are Bushra Cheema, Irshad Bibi—a 50-year-old widow who left for Syria to join her son Bilal there in April—and Farhana, Irshad Bibi’s neighbor who was reported missing on Sept. 15. (There are between 400 and 500 Pakistanis legally in Syria, according to the Pakistan Embassy in Damascus; Bilal is one of them.)

So, he has "no knowlege" of the illegal departees .

Syria suspended issuing visas to Pakistanis two years ago. The “maybe 50” Pakistanis who have gone to fight alongside I.S. in Syria or Iraq have, according to Punjab officials, likely crossed into Iran through Balochistan province using human traffickers.

No mention of the "minority sect Pakis" leaving to join Assad's side

[SSridhar]

Country-wide terror raids: NIA picks up eight suspects - The Hindu

A network reportedly connected to the Islamic State and planning to carry out simultaneous bomb blasts across the country was busted by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) on Friday.

While four persons were picked up from Hyderabad in Telangana, several more were detained from Rajasthan and Karnataka in raids conducted on Thursday night. Members of the network, which decided to carry out terror attacks at public places, planned to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on their own.

The NIA drive is said to be spread pan-India including Bengaluru, Tumakuru and Hyderabad, sources added.

Explosive substances were seized from Nafeez of Tolichowki in Hyderabad. He was among the four picked up by NIA with the help of local intelligence officials here.

The network was formed by associates of some persons involved in terror activities like Farahtullah Ghori from Telangana. Some of them are reportedly operating from abroad, say the police.

They formed the network and planned to strike on the eve of Republic Day. The NIA registered a case at Delhi and conducted raids at different places including Bengaluru on Thursday night.

Four more arrested in Karnataka

Four more youths were picked up from Karnatana – two from Jakkasandra, Bengaluru, and one each from Mangaluru and Tumakuru.

The four youths were picked up for their suspected links to Islamic State (IS) in a special operation that was carried out simultaneously in the three cities at around 2 am on Friday morning.

A senior police official confirmed the NIA operation in the three cities in the state and said that the four picked up were known to each other and were working in tandem.

Their online activity is said to have been monitored for nearly six months now and no credible information is available as to what triggered the intervention of security forces at this juncture.

City police sources said that they also wanted to interrogate the suspects to see if there is any connection to the IS linked threat letter to the French Consulate in the city.

Terror suspect from Tumakuru, Syed Mujahid Hussain (33) is a wholesale fruit merchant. Syed Mujahid Hussain is the only son of Syed Hussain, a retired assistant tahsildar and a retired school teacher of Poor House colony in Tumakuru city. His father claimed that his son is innocent.

He also accused the NIA of searching their house without a search warrant. He alleged that they seized four Qurans, photographs, photo albums, news papers, four mobile phones and Rs.3 33 lakh in cash.

Mangaluru suspect a diploma holder

The suspect picked from Mangaluru is 25-year-old diploma holder.

Sources in the police told The Hindu that Najmul Huda was secured from his residence in Permude village, near Bajpe, within Mangaluru police commissionerate limits.

Huda, son of a Moulvi in the local mosque, had completed diploma in polymer technology from government Karnataka Polytechnic in Mangaluru. Though he joined RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru, to pursue BE in chemical engineering, he left the course halfway and came back to Mangaluru, sources said.

[deejay]

An outsiders view on recent IS arrests in India

http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/i ... nde-visits

Islamic State threat reaches India before Hollande visits

NEW DELHI — India is taking no chances ahead of President Francois Hollande’s three-day visit on Sunday (Jan 24) as threats grow from militant groups including the Islamic State.

Police arrested four students in their early 20s this week who planned to attack both a Hindu pilgrimage site and Delhi shopping malls that are frequented by foreigners and wealthy Indians, according to Mr Arvind Deep, a police official in the capital. The men were in touch with handlers in Iraq and Syria, Times of India reported, citing unidentified sources.

The threat comes as Islamic State-linked militants become active in Asia following a high-profile attack in Paris last year. After gun and bomb attacks in Jakarta last week killed four civilians, Malaysian police detained four people with suspected links to Islamic State and Singapore deported 26 Bangladeshis it accused of supporting violent extremism.

Mr Hollande will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi at India’s annual Republic Day parade on Jan. 26, an honour given to US President Barack Obama a year ago. The French leader has vowed to fight the Islamic State “as long as necessary” after terrorists killed 130 people in and around Paris. France has been conducting airstrikes against the group in Syria and Iraq.

‘WE’VE BEEN LUCKY’

India, meanwhile, has barely registered among the Islamic State’s ranks of 30,000 foreign fighters despite its 172-million strong Muslim minority population — the third largest in the world. This is even as it faces constant attacks from Pakistan-based extremist groups, including one earlier this month at a northern Indian air base killed 13 people.

“We’ve been lucky,” said Mr Sreeram Sundar Chaulia, dean of the Jindal School of International Affairs near New Delhi. “In a sense, we’re long overdue for an attack, and as IS loses territory, it’s got to make up for it by terrorist attacks on soft targets around the world. From their point of view, India is an infidel country carrying out policies inimical to Muslims.” {WTF?}

Some 8,000 police officers and 12,000 paramilitary personnel will be deployed in the capital, along with more than 200 closed-circuit television cameras, snipers atop buildings and sniffer dogs, according to a Delhi police spokesman. Airlines also requested passengers to arrive earlier for flights as airports tighten security ahead of the event.

A mock drill was conducted by the National Security Guards, the country’s elite anti-terrorism force, at a busy market frequented by foreigners in the heart of the capital. Commandos raided a restaurant to free hostages, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported. The local police is also working on intelligence inputs and is on alert for any terror related incident.

...

[SSridhar]

Parents need to keep a watch on children’s activities, say police - Anil Kumar Sastry, The Hindu

When the Mangaluru Police accompanying the National Investigative Agency personnel knocked on the doors of Saiful Huda at Permude in the early hours of Friday, the house looked like any other that belonged to a middle class family; so also its residents.

But when the personnel began questioning Najmul Huda, son of Saiful Huda, everything came out in the open. His extensive activities over the internet, sharing of posts, communications and many such were revealed during the initial inquiry.

It must have been a shocker to Saiful Huda, who is a person of repute in Permude locality being the Moulvi of a local mosque, sources in the police said.

He just knew that Najmul Huda extensively used the internet and nothing beyond that. Najmul Huda used to spend much of his time in the nearby mobile phone services shop.

Even when Saiful Huda spoke to presspersons, trying to keep his face up at the City Police Commissioner’s office, he maintained that his son was innocent.

Najmul Huda is the eldest of Saiful Huda’s children. Najmul Huda has three younger sisters, two of whom have been married off and the youngest is studying a pre-university course. His mother is a homemaker, while Saiful Huda also taught in a nearby madrasa.

Sources in the police said that it is high time that parents kept a watch on the activities of their wards, particularly at a time when the internet has no boundaries. One would not know the volumes of information available on the Net and its influence and hence, it is highly essential to know what the children were doing, they said.

The NIA team from Kochi comprising about 10 personnel was headed by a Superintendent of Police while the city police posse comprised about 60 personnel, including a Deputy Commissioner of Police, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and five Inspectors.

[SSridhar]

Claims of innocence!

“We were in deep slumber when around 30 persons barged into our house at gun point, handcuffed my husband and frantically began searching for weapons in the house. One of the cops even put a gun to my head and demanded where we had hidden the weapons,” recounted Bushra Tabussam, 31, wife of the techie Mohammed Afzal, 35, who was picked up by NIA sleuths from Hegde Nagar for his suspected links to the Islamic State (IS).

He was one of the two persons arrested in the sweep that saw four others being detained in the State. For the families, who got news of the charges from snippets on television, the sudden raid has led to overwhelming anxiety engulfing their households.

“The sleuths neither produced an arrest warrant nor have given us immediate family with an arrest memo. We fear that he will be framed,” said Ms.Tabussam, a human resource executive. The couple have a four-year-old child.

In Mangaluru, Saiful Huda, father of Najmul Huda, who was arrested on similar charges, claimed that his son was innocent. “All he did was to share Islamic State material on Facebook. The NIA personnel assured me they will release him soon,” said Mr. Huda, a moulvi at Bajpe on the outskirts of the city.

[SSridhar]

CIA leads help Indian agencies bust ISIS cells - Rajshekhar Jha, ToI

Till not too long ago, the exact presence of Islamic State (ISIS) operatives was being debated. On Friday almost 20 ISIS operatives are in the dragnet of security forces as a result of a pan-India crackdown that has its roots in behind the scenes cooperation between Indian and US intelligence agencies.

Highly placed sources said tip offs by US agencies, that are tracking ISIS computers and phones in West Asia, saw Indian agencies follow the leads over the last weekend that led them to blow the lid off the ISIS cells.

Explaining the operation, a source said CIA is keeping a watch on hundreds of IP addresses of computers and smart phones being used by ISIS in Syria and Iraq. There were several addresses which ISIS operatives were using to access Facebook.

All such IPs and proxy servers were under surveillance and one address was used by ISAuT commander Shafi Armar (codename: Yousuf al-Hindi) to communicate with the likes of Akhlaq ur Rehman (arrested in Haridwar aloing with three others) and several others. The inputs were being shared and surveillance mounted on the suspects.

Sources say the agencies were able to intercept calls and Whatsapp and Facebook messages being exchanged by the arrested operatives.

In mid-January, an exchange between Yousuf and Akhlaq read — 7 kalash rakh do. The code was interpreted as a plot to bomb seven places.This input was shared by CIA with Indian agencies and alarmed security officials briefed national security adviser Ajit Doval.

In the next few hours, the suspects shifted from Roorkee to Haridwar. The sleuths were all charged up anticipating the next move. They knew a strike was in the making. After five hours, the suspects in Haridwar shifted base to Roorkee after conducting a survey . Similarly, other modules also seemed to act in a suspicious manner. A crackdown on all known ISIS modules across India was ordered.

Agency sleuths worked against time and roped in police and anti-terror squads stationed in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad. A control room was set-up in Delhi as field officers and policemen spread at their respective target places. Nobody had an idea of the identity of the target and were only briefed about the name and place of stay of the person.

Through Saturday and Sunday, the agencies executed the operation and picked up the suspects. The Roorkee-Haridwar operation happened before agencies suspected a strike even sooner than other modules. Once they were detained, all suspects were picked up one by one. The north Indian module was handed over to the special cell which had already been tracking them. The others were handed over to the NIA and other police.

[SSridhar]

Islamic State suspect admits guilt in court - Sonam Saigal, The Hindu

An alleged suspect of Islamic State (IS) Mohammad Hussain Jamil Khan, arrested from Mazgaon on Friday admitted his guilt before National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Saturday.

Mr. Khan is a businessman and has two wives and two daughters. He was produced before the court with handcuffs and a veil on his face.

When asked by Judge N.K. More whether Mr. Khan wanted to say anything, he replied that he made a mistake.

Advocate Shabnam Shaikh appearing for Mr. Khan said, "He admitted his guilt in pressure and that he has been falsely implicated."

Similar to Mudabbir Shaikh, another ISIS alleged suspect who was granted transit remand of three days, public prosecutor Anand Sukhdeve sought transit remand for Mr. Khan as well.

The court granted him three days of transit remand to be produced before Patiala Court in New Delhi with the other suspect arrested across the nation in the last two days.

[SSridhar]

NIA arrests seven more IS suspects in countrywide raid - The Hindu

The National Investigation Agency arrested seven more people for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack in a countrywide raid more from 12 locations in six different cities.

All the accused were reportedly recruited in the name of terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS) and were under surveillance for the past six-seven months, said a senior NIA official.

Those arrested on Saturday have been identified as Syed Mujahid (33), resident of Tumkur, Karnataka, Mohammad Aleem (20), Lucknow U.P.; Mohammed Obedullah Khan (33), Hyderabad; Abu Anas(24), Hyderabad; Asif Ali (21),Bengaluru; Muhammed Abdul Ahad (46), Bengaluru and Suhail Ahmed (23), Bengaluru.

On Friday, the NIA and state police had arrested six accused persons. One more person identified as Imran Khan Pathan alias Abu Hind from Aurangabad was detained on Saturday afternoon. NIA officials said investigations were on and he had not been arrested yet. His arrest would take the number of accused to 14 in the case.

While home ministry has refused to name IS, officials said they were being recruited by former Indian Mujahideen (IM) member Shafi Armar alias Yousuf, a key member of Ansar ul Tawhid (AuT), which has pledged allegiance to the terrorist outfit. The accused are being brought to Delhi where they will be subjected to sustained interrogation.

“These individuals were planning and making efforts to establish a channel of procurement of explosives, weapons, identify locations to organize training camps including training of fire arms, motivate new recruits to target police officers, foreigners in India and to carry out terrorist activities in various parts of India. All the arrested suspects were being brought to New Delhi for interrogation as preliminary enquiry showed that they were working on evolving a terror outfit with ideologies similar to IS,” a statement by NIA said.

[deejay]

On the news of CIA assistance and how CIA monitors all net traffic from computers and smart phones related to ISIS, I wonder what are we doing with our NETRA programme:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRDO_NETRA

NETRA (NEtwork TRaffic Analysis) is a software network developed by India's Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory, and is used by the Intelligence Bureau, India's domestic intelligence agency, and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the country's external intelligence agency to intercept and analyse internet traffic using pre-defined filters. The program was tested at smaller scales by various national security agencies, and is reported to be deployed nationwide soon, as of January 2014.

[Kati]

Just came back from visiting our eastern neighboring country.....
My companions there included some high-ranking personnel, including the PM's close confidants.
Got some very interesting input from their POV some of which are very sensitive. However, let me
share two comments they made unequivocally -
(a) The powerful western country is on its toe to destabilize their country through jihadi proxies;
and (b) their country is kept afloat with the help of two countries; one which directly helped its independence; and the other is the man challenger of the aforementioned western country.

[Prem]

Just came back from visiting our eastern neighboring country.....
My companions there included some high-ranking personnel, including the PM's close confidants.
Got some very interesting input from their POV some of which are very sensitive. However, let me
share two comments they made unequivocally -
(a) The powerful western country is on its toe to destabilize their country through jihadi proxies;
and (b) their country is kept afloat with the help of two countries; one which directly helped its independence; and the other is the man challenger of the aforementioned western country.

How and Where and does Didi fit in this ? No secret in her meeting with many foreign dignitaries antagonistic to peace in the region. Her defiance in harming national interests is appalling and cannot be possible without help from outside support.

[Kati]

^^^^^
Didi is very much despised by the other didi across the border. The other didi thinks that
this side didi is a cause for concern for her open support and shelter to jamaat elements..
That's why, the other didi is taking a much harder line in dealing with jihadi elements.
security agencies are instructed to eliminate the elements in action, - no need for long
judicial process and giving the "liberal" elements to cry over sob stories .....

[Kati]

^^^^^^
Pointing to this side of border Didi, the other didi's confidants said clearly that "we can and will deal with
the jihadis ruthlessly, but you can't" ....

[SSridhar]

IS suicide bombers, aged 12-15, may target PM Narendra Modi: Intelligence - Rajshekhar Jha, ToI

Last Independence Day, PM Narendra Modi took his security detail unawares when he broke the cordon to meet children on his way out of Red Fort. This did not go unnoticed by Islamic extremist groups who have been planning to target Modi, according to well-placed sources.

The special Protection Group (SPG) that protects the PM is in a tizzy over an intelligence alert that terrorist groups, including Islamic State adherents, could be preparing teens to carry out a fidayeen attack on the PM. The inputs are understood to have said that boys aged 12-15 and trained in weapons and explosives may have sneaked into the country, triggering a high level of preparedness. The alert was issued on Friday and circulated among SPG, police and intel units in NCR.

Following intelligence inputs of potential child squads targeting PM Modi on Republic Day, the SPG and senior advisers have been briefed and it has been urged that the PM not breach the security cordon.The Delhi police has been asked to keep a watch for possible suspects on R-Day. The special cell too has been alerted and asked to carry out search operations. The cell has received an anonymous communication related to the present threat, a source said.

The IS has recently released videos showing children learning to use machine guns and rocket launchers apart from rigorous physical training. PoK and Af-Pak-based groups are also learned to have children in their camps. One of these is Ansar-ud Tawhid (AuT), which has been helping IS spread its wings in India.

TOI had reported earlier that security threat assessment has been on an all-time high. The French foreign intelligence unit, directorate general of external security and Indian agencies, assisted by CIA, have been finalising the security detail of dignitaries and across Delhi.

[SSridhar]

Indignant Muslims of Mumbai suburb protest against IS - Noshikant Karlikar, ToI

A day after a Mumbra techie was arrested for his alleged involvement with ISIS, residents on Saturday expressed concern at the inroads terror has made into this bustling suburb on the fringes of Thane. Several organizations and schools protested against IS and its web of terror, upset that their suburb is in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Sameena Khan (12), a student, shouted anti-IS slogans as she held placards outside Mumbra station on Saturday evening, along with over a dozen of her schoolmates who were protesting against the terror outfit. Khan was upset, saying it was unfair to tag Mumbra as a breeding ground for terror activities just because one person living there was linked with a terror organization.

"They (ISIS) are not saviors of the world and their actions seem to be an attempt to divide society and glorify inhuman acts in the name of religion. My parents, teachers and elders have clearly instructed us to not fall prey to any false propaganda of 'bad people' like IS, which are defaming the entire community," said Rukhsana Sayed, another protestor.

Clerics and members of the Muslim community in Mumbra also chose to distance themselves from the arrest on Friday and condemned the terror outfit. A few religious heads from the suburb held a meeting and decided to collectively counter any possible IS influence on youngsters from the community.

"Sermons will soon be held at various mosques following Friday prayers, where religious heads will counsel youngsters to refrain from supporting any terror activities or outfits. We will also counsel parents who shall be told to keep close vigil on their wards and check any sudden change in behavior," said Sharif Hashmi, a cleric.

Meanwhile, the family of suspected IS operative Mudabbir Shaikh has moved out of its residence in Reshma Park, Amrut Nagar, and temporarily sought refuge with a close relative to avoid the intense media glare. When contacted, Ahmed Miyan, father-in-law of Shaikh, said he had no clue about Shaikh's link to any terror activities. "He was an IT programmer and quit his job 18 months back and was since freelancing from home," he said.

A neighbor told TOI that Shaikh appeared disturbed in the last few months. "In the few short conversations I had with him recently, Shaikh seemed disturbed about something but was reluctant to speak," said the neigbour requesting anonymity.

[SSridhar]

Bengaluru techie was a key player in Karnataka module - The Hindu

A techie entrepreneur from the city — deported from Turkey in January 2015 while trying to cross over to Syria with his wife, five kids, and two other techies from the State — has now emerged as the key player in the Karnataka module busted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday, according to NIA sources.

Mohammed Abdul Ahad (47), a resident of Thanisandra in north Bengaluru, was detained and later arrested by the NIA along with five others from the State. After he was deported from Turkey, he was not arrested but “counselled” by Central agencies and put under surveillance, it is learnt.

He then started a tech firm, which bagged a contract to develop software for the Department of Haj Pilgrimage, Government of Saudi Arabia.

However, a NIA source said that Ahad turned a “rallying point for rogue elements in the city”, who aspired to go to Syria.

[SSridhar]

Some Asian countries are proposing legislation that the IS-returnees would be stripped of their citizenship and would not be allowed to return to the country. The above incident shows why that is a right approach.

[SSridhar]

Two from Hyderabad joined IS, flew to Syria - Marri Ramu, The Hindu

In a startling revelation, four terror suspects held by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) told the police that two of their associates had already joined the terror group Islamic State (IS) and are fighting on its behalf in Syria.

Two more accomplices of the detained quartet are still at large. A hunt is on to nab them. The two men who joined the IS are from Mehdipatnam in city and were reportedly working for a software company. They had left for Syria three months ago, the arrested terror suspects said.

They didn’t fly to Syria directly. One first went to Singapore and the other to Dubai. From there, they reached Syria. They had sent a message to Nafeez Khan, one of the four held by the NIA, after reaching Syria that they had safely landed at their destination. “Nafeez or his other associates have no clue what is the fate of the two techies, but he maintained that the duo was actively taking part in the fight on behalf of IS,” sources in intelligence officials said. Nafeez Khan, Obedullah Khan, Mohd. Shariff Mohiuddin and Abu Anas, who were arrested by the NIA, got introduced to one another while attending prayers at Bilal and Abu Bakr mosques in city.[Hyderabad]

Nafeez hailing from Ganded mandal of Ranga Reddy district, came to the city to find work three years ago. After working as auto-rickshaw driver for some time, he joined as worker in a tiles shop in Tolichowki. He studied up to 10{+t}{+h}standard and used to follow religious issues and discussions on Internet. He got influenced by the online campaign of IS and closely followed the developments related to it. He created a WhatsApp group with Obedullah, Mohiuddin and Abu Anas and they used to circulate IS info through it.

Through a social networking website, he came in contact with a person called Gumnam, believed to be an IS recruiter. He communicated with Gumnam sometimes through Skype. Eventually, they came in contact with four other youngsters, including the two who later went to Syria. Nafeez formed an organisation christened Zaindul Khilafat-fil-Hind with the seven others to carry out the IS programmes in Hyderabad.

[SSridhar]

‘Lectures by radical clerics brought terror suspects together’ - The Hindu

Organising bayan s (lectures) by radical Islamic clerics turned into a meeting ground for the six terror suspects arrested from Karnataka. Two mosques in north Bengaluru turned the platform for many such bayan s, claimed NIA sources.

Asif Ali, a stone polisher arrested from J.J. Nagar, worked to organise bayans by Maulana Anzarshah Qasmi, a radical preacher from Banashankari, who was recently arrested for his links with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

It was at these bayan s that Syed Mujahid Hussein from Tumakuru, Mohammed Afzal from Saraipalya, and Abdul Ahad were believed to have met.

Hussein had also organised a bayan by Ansarshah Qasmi in Tumakuru in November 2015, sources claimed.

The group, however, grew distant from Ansarshah Qasmi, as he was opposed to Islamic State (IS), the suspects are said to have told interrogators.

They later organised a bayan by one Mufti Abdus Sami Qasmi, another allegedly pro-IS cleric from Uttar Pradesh, sources claimed. Mohammed Abdul Ahad turned into a rallying point for the group.

Investigations revealed that the group held two meetings — in Bengaluru and in a forest area in Tumakuru — in the past three months.

They also claimed that the meeting held in the city was attended by Muddabir Mushtaq Sheik from Mumbra, Mumbai and Mohammed Nafeez Khan from Hyderabad.

NIA claimed to have also recovered explosives from the two.

[member_29325]

Some Asian countries are proposing legislation that the IS-returnees would be stripped of their citizenship and would not be allowed to return to the country. The above incident shows why that is a right approach.

Makes total sense -- these IS guys owe allegiance to the caliphate and as such must be stripped of their citizenship and allowed to remain in IS territory to get their just desserts.

These IS recruits are hardened enough to ignore their own preachers and mullahs -- all of this counseling by family approach on these IS recruits is not going to work. They need to be treated as extra-territorial spies/soldiers in every way.

[SSridhar]

Some of the arrested had identified locations for attacks - Vijaita Singh, The Hindu

The group of terrorists arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) did not use the commonly available web-based applications like WhatsApp to share files and information on preparing Improvised Explosive Devices.

They were instead active on ShareIt and Trillian messenger for online chat and communication, The Hindu has learnt.

Officials said some of the members had even met and identified locations to carry out attacks.

The NIA said earlier that the accused were in the process of targeting policemen and foreigners.

Inspired by the IS

While the NIA and the Union Home Ministry were cautious in linking the arrested persons to the Islamic State (IS), a top government official said the group was indeed inspired by the IS, and the former member of Indian Mujahideen Shafi Armar alias Yousuf, who now heads the Ansar ul Tawhid (AuT) that has pledged allegiance to the IS, had recruited them on its behalf.

“The Islamic State has a lot of traction in India {Now, that is an admission} , and it is using the dark web to recruit young men and women. They are operating at several levels, and Armar is one of the links here. We have reasonable information that Armar is based in Syria and is getting directions from the Islamic State to rope in men here,” the official said.

Under surveillance

Asked what led to the crackdown because the groups were under surveillance for the last seven-eight months, a senior official said: “Their communication with each other precipitated the arrests. Since they have procured the explosives, it was imperative to arrest them.”

[SSridhar]

Terror suspects were looking for a forested area - Vijaita Singh, The Hindu

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Saturday that in the nationwide swoop, altogether 14 persons have been arrested for plotting terror attacks. The suspects were in the process of identifying a “forested area” to organise a training camp where associates could be taught handling of weapons, a senior official said.

After conducting raids at 12 locations in six cities, the NIA arrested eight more men on Saturday. Those arrested have been identified as Syed Mujahid (33), a resident of Tumakuru, Karnataka; Mohammad Aleem (20) of Lucknow; Mohammed Obedullah Khan (33) and Abu Anas (24) of Hyderabad; Asif Ali (21), Muhammed Abdul Ahad (46) and Suhail Ahmed (23) of Bengaluru; and Imran Khan Pathan of Aurangabad.

Unlike others arrested in the past for alleged links with the Islamic State (IS), this group had procured explosives and were in the process of carrying out attacks at multiple locations. The group of men, led by Mumbai resident Mudabbir Sheikh, had met on several occasions after they came to know each other through their common handler — the former member of Indian Mujahideen Shafi Armar alias Yousuf, who now heads the Ansar-ul-Tawhid, owing allegiance to the IS.

[SSridhar]

Some Asian countries are proposing legislation that the IS-returnees would be stripped of their citizenship and would not be allowed to return to the country. The above incident shows why that is a right approach.

Makes total sense -- these IS guys owe allegiance to the caliphate and as such must be stripped of their citizenship and allowed to remain in IS territory to get their just desserts.

These IS recruits are hardened enough to ignore their own preachers and mullahs -- all of this counseling by family approach on these IS recruits is not going to work. They need to be treated as extra-territorial spies/soldiers in every way.

There is precedence too even in hardcore Islamist nations such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt etc. which largely forbade the return of mujahideen after the Afghan jihad. That is why a large number of Arabs stayed behind in FATA/Afghanistan.

[member_29089]

over generalized observation:

the Islamic terrorism leaders in India do not seem to come from the Muslim ghettos of Maharashtra, W. Bengal, Gujarat, Hydrabad, or UP. They seem to be city boys, semi-educated, who, perhaps hit a glass ceiling and saw the dream crash, or found their inner struggle of Mo's teachings of hate and doing ItyVity and got radicalized.

Now the push by IS (and ISI) is to recruit the Mohammedan village bumkins but various languages may be a barrier

Do anyone know what the Indian police mean when they say "we caught teenagers who were radicalized and stopped them from traveling to Syria, now efforts are on to de-radicalize them"... it's like attempting to train a snake against biting.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/now ... 35780.html

- Which branch of police "de-radicalizes" these snakes?
- How long does "de-radicalization" last?
- What expertise do the police have in this field?
- Why we don't seem to hear such "de-radicalization" stories from France, UK, Denmark....
- Who is to check if the "de-radicalization" is working or not

I think only method of de-radicalization is ghar-vapsi ...
-

[SSridhar]

94 sites used by IS blocked - Shoumojit Banerjee, The Hindu

The Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Sunday said it had blocked 94 websites deployed by the Islamic State terror outfit as platforms to brainwash and recruit vulnerable youth.

“The influence of the IS is clearly seen in Maharashtra and 10 other States,” said Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Vivek Phansalkar at a press conference here.

The urgent decision was taken in the backdrop of the arrest of six individuals from various cities in an anti-terror swoop conducted by the ATS in conjunction with the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Mr. Phansalkar said that a new website, to be extensively used for the purpose of de-radicalisation, would be launched soon.

“We’re monitoring more websites and social media sites... any website used to propagate the IS agenda will be blocked. The IS emphasises the use of visuals in their recruitment modus operandi, with extensive use of pictures downloaded from various jihadi websites.”

He said over 150 sites were currently under the radar of the security agencies.