International Terrorism Watch

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 10 Sep 2009 13:29

Man Who Predicted First Two Trade Center Attacks Says Something May Happen SOON

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
Man Who Predicted First Two Trade Center Attacks Says Something May Happen SOON
Daniel J. Hill joined the US Army at the age of 15, by lying about his age. He eventually became a Special Forces paratrooper and served in Germany, where he participated in missions during the Hungarian Revolution and the struggle for control of Lebanon in 1958. Following his tour in Germany, he was selected for Ranger school at Fort Benning, where he was asked to return as an instructor. In 1960 he was assigned to infiltrate the Katanga insurrection in the Congo where he met his lifelong friend, Rick Rescorla.

After retiring from the US Army, he converted to Islam and spent time fighting with the Mujahideen against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

In the meantime, Rescorla had become Director of Security for Dean Witter Securities (later merged with Morgan Stanley), which occupied a number of floors in the World Trade Center. Rescorla had become increasingly concerned about the potential for a terrorist attack against the center and in 1990 hired Hill to provide an assessment of the building's vulnerabilities. Hill singled out the basement parking garage as the obvious point for a car-bomb attack, telling Rescorla that if he were a terrorist he would fill a truck with ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel and detonate it in the underground parking garage. Rescorla reported these findings to the New York Port Authority and the New York Police Department but received no official response. In 1993 the World Trade Center bombing took place in almost exactly the manner Hill had predicted.

Following the bombing, Rescorla and Hill wrote a report, which warned that the next logical step would be a suicide terrorist flying a plane into the building.

In 1998 Hill attempted to interest the FBI in a plan to assassinate Osama bin Laden. He proposed working with his Afghani contacts to ambush bin Laden as he drove between Kandahar and Kabul, but the plan was rejected, although Hill's associates in Afghanistan could do the actual attack if they had transport and technical assistance from the U.S. In 2001, his contacts told him that a major attack against the US was imminent, and he attempted to revive the plan; but he was again turned down by the FBI. He lost his life-long friend, Rick Rescorla, in the 9/11 attack.

Hill is not done predicting terrorist attacks, He was interviewed by Lee Benson of the Deseret News and feels that something may be immanent and it it will be bigger than 9/11
Through the Internet I managed to contact Hill at his home in Florida. He's 71 now. I asked him if his reputation as a terrorism prognosticator without parallel has changed his life much.

"Oh, that blew over pretty fast," he said. "Most of the people even in my hometown don't know any of that stuff."

He didn't want to talk about the past. He wanted to talk about the future.

The very near future.

The man who predicted 9/11 is worried that its sequel is imminent.

"Muslims that I talk to say things like, 'America thinks they're safe now. They've forgotten about 9/11. But watch, Daniel. Stay near your TV. It's going to be bigger than 9/11,' " he said.

Hill said the next terrorist attack will involve suitcase nuclear bombs that will be detonated in small, low-flying two-seater private airplanes manned by men hanging onto the belief that, like the 9/11 hijackers, they are about to die as martyrs and enter paradise.

He is not alone in suggesting such a scenario. A 2007 book, "The Day of Islam," spells out the details, as do any number of Internet sites about a plot called "American Hiroshima."

The nukes, he said, will be detonated over New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Miami, Houston, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

I asked Hill, "Why now?"

"Eight years from 1993 to 2001, eight years from that 9/11 to this 9/11," he said. "Symbolism. They're big on symbolism."

"Ramadan started two weeks ago Saturday," he said, referring to the Muslim holy month of fasting. "It always hits around Ramadan."

Eight years ago, Hill predicted the attack would come on Oct. 16 — almost in the middle of that year's Ramadan (the timing of Ramadan varies from year to year). He was about a month off.

"I don't know the second, hour or day. I just know they have the means, will, motivation and desire to do it," he said, noting that it's believed that years ago the suitcase nukes, acquired from former USSR operatives, were smuggled into America across the Mexican border.

Hill said he has warned the FBI, the CIA and others in government. For the past two years, he's sent out proposals for a book on the subject. All he's gotten back are rejections.

"To most people, I am a deviant personality," he said.

But there's no arguing his credentials.

"I'm a Muslim," he says. "I'm a special ops expert, I'm a terrorist and I've lived among Muslims. I fought the Russians with the same guys we're now fighting in Afghanistan. I met Osama. I volunteered to assassinate him. I know (the enemy) so well because I've worked, slept and prayed alongside them for years. I've become one of them. I know their nature, I know their culture, I know how they think. I can quote the Koran like a Southern Baptist minister can quote the New Testament. I know these are people who do not tire, who do not quit. There are odds this won't happen, but they aren't big odds."

"I hope you're wrong," I told him.

"Yeah. I hope so, too," he said.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 14 Sep 2009 08:07

Bin Laden Releases New Message to the US

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 14 Sep 2009 10:18

Bin Laden calls Obama 'powerless'

shravan · Post by **shravan** » 18 Sep 2009 14:04

Suicide attack on Somalia base
17 September 2009

At least 11 people have been killed in a double suicide attack on a peacekeeping base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, claimed by Islamist insurgents.

It's thought that suicide bombers in two explosives-laden cars with UN logos drove on to the main base of African Union peacekeepers on Thursday and triggered massive blasts.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 22 Sep 2009 03:22

shravan · Post by **shravan** » 22 Sep 2009 12:26

8 Marines killed in Abu Sayyaf ambush in Sulu
09/22/2009

Eight Marine soldiers were killed Monday afternoon in an ambush staged by Abu Sayyaf bandits in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, military officials said.
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The Abu Sayyaf is a loosely organized group of Islamic fundamentalists that has links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network. - GMANews.TV

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 25 Sep 2009 07:20

FBI arrests Jordanian for Dallas bomb plot

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 20 Nov 2009 00:01

FWIW, just something I came across.

http://www.towleroad.com/2009/02/report-al-qaeda.html

Report: Al Qaeda Uses Male Rape as Suicide Bomber Coercion

In a January report on Ennahar online which was recently picked up by Brit tabloid The Sun, Abu Baçir El Assimi, reformed Algerian militant told authorities that sexual acts on young teen male recruits was a way to get them to become suicide bombers: "These young victims of sexual abuse themselves seek death for fear of remaining prey in the hands of terrorist leaders."

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 20 Nov 2009 00:41

Rahul M wrote:FWIW, just something I came across.

http://www.towleroad.com/2009/02/report-al-qaeda.html

Report: Al Qaeda Uses Male Rape as Suicide Bomber Coercion

In a January report on Ennahar online which was recently picked up by Brit tabloid The Sun, Abu Baçir El Assimi, reformed Algerian militant told authorities that sexual acts on young teen male recruits was a way to get them to become suicide bombers: "These young victims of sexual abuse themselves seek death for fear of remaining prey in the hands of terrorist leaders."

Does not make sense that this is a motivator. More likely that there is rape (no doubt) given the proclivities in the region. Some of these teenagers might be Ashnas as well. However, if they can become uicide bombers, they can also escape

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 20 Nov 2009 00:45

well, it does come via 'the sun'............

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 20 Nov 2009 00:46

Rahul M wrote:well, it does come via 'the sun'............

I did not get that one

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 20 Nov 2009 00:51

the tabloid sun is notorious for running ludicrous stories.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 20 Nov 2009 00:51

Stockholm syndrome at play here?
The terror masters create a love hate relationship, they treat their soosai ward like shit, sexually abuse them and then taunt them into becoming soosai bummers.

Kinda makes sense in a twisted kind of way. Whatever works with these animals.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 20 Nov 2009 00:52

Rahul M wrote:the tabloid sun is notorious for running ludicrous stories.

Ahaaa . My bad

Watch the movie Osama

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 26 Dec 2009 04:58

Passenger sets off firecrackers on plane, claims he was acting on behalf of AlQaeda:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8430612.stm

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 26 Dec 2009 05:55

U.S. says explosion on plane was terrorism attempt

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 31 Dec 2009 01:25

Is Yemen the New Afghanistan?

I don't think so - after all, it's not landlocked - but there are some similarities. Note the civil war in the north, which is related to the fact that North Yemen was a separate (communist) state not too long ago. The news video describes Yemen's govt as beleaguered - well, if they can't manage the security situation, then that means they need to be split back up, so that an independent North Yemen becomes communist again. That will leave a more compact South Yemen to better focus on the wahabbi jihadi threat within its borders.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 31 Dec 2009 19:02

Gunman Opens Fire at Mall in Finland:

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europ ... ping.mall/

Finland enjoys a strong tradition of hunting and has a high proportion of gun ownership, with two million firearms owned in a nation of five million people.

sanjchopra · Post by **sanjchopra** » 01 Jan 2010 12:40

Security charade: how I made a bomb and blew up a plane

Airport security, he said, was "theatre", designed to reassure the public rather than to stop bombers.

The Abdulmutallab case would seem to support this view.

Many airport X-ray machines cannot, in fact, detect most types of explosives: Baum ran a recent trial for a European government where a woman passed successfully through 24 different airports with the complete components of a bomb concealed on her body.

But even if the technology was better (and it is, to be fair, improving), it's largely beside the point.

At the moment, aviation security is about looking for suspicious things. It should be about looking for suspicious people.

That doesn't mean scrutiny on the basis of race. To single out all young south Asian men - given the vast numbers of them passing through Heathrow - would be almost as blanket and pointless as what we currently do.

It means scrutiny on the basis of behaviour. A would-be bomber will show greater stress and nervousness than the average.

Those with such signs could be selected for extra checks that would have a better chance of detecting a bomb. Unlike blanket checks, this procedure has found bombers in the past.

By the time a bomber reaches the airport, however, it is probably too late.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Jan 2010 12:49

there have been continuous clashes in northern Nigeria too between islamists and govt forces recently leading to dozens of deaths. the nigeria is consistently classified as a top3 most dangerous place for business travel - in my co I dont anyone is allowed to visit under any circumstances. some "port harcourt" comes up in advisories.

Xinhua

Order being restored in Nigerian riot state
www.chinaview.cn 2009-12-31 17:33:39

LAGOS, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Riot in Zango area of northern Nigeria's Bauchi State has been put under control as everything is back in order, state police said on Thursday.

"Business and commercial activities have resumed fully just as more riot policemen and soldiers have been deployed to maintain peace," Mohammed Barau, the state police spokesman, told Xinhua on phone.

At least 38 people were killed and a number of houses burnt in a religious clash in northern Nigeria's Bauchi State.

He said both riot police and other security agencies deployed in the area would stay for some time to sustain the peace.

He advised people in the state to go about their normal business as security personnel are on alert to protect their lives and properties.

A competent source based in Bauchi told Xinhua that people are seen returning to their homes, while others whose houses were razed go round in company with relatives to see the damages done.

People who had taken refuge at the building of the defense industry had left for their different places of abode, he added.

The source said military personnel and policemen were seen patrolling the streets and the road blocks have been dismantled.

The violence erupted on Monday when a sect group known as Kala Kato went on rampage to demand the release of its arrested leader Malam Badamasi.

In July this year, the state witnessed another unrest, which later spread to the neighboring states of Adamawa, Kano, Bornoand and Yobe, leaving 800 people dead.

Nigeria is a secular country with the population evenly divided between Christians and Muslims. The northern region with 19 out of the country's 36 states is predominantly Muslim, while Christians dominate the south.

sumishi · Post by **sumishi** » 01 Jan 2010 13:28

Sanjay M wrote:Passenger sets off firecrackers on plane, claims he was acting on behalf of AlQaeda:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8430612.stm

This is more likely a false flag operation. The following is an interesting read.
Flight 253 passenger Kurt Haskell: 'I was visited by the FBI'

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 02 Jan 2010 06:33

Danish police shoot man trying to enter Mohammed cartoonist's home

The man, a 27-year-old Somalian who was armed with an axe, was caught trying to break into the home of Kurt Westergaard at 10pm local time, police said.

Police shot the man, injuring him in his leg. He was taken into custody and is expected to recover.

No baki connection ........ yet.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 02 Jan 2010 10:52

Danish Cartoonist Escapes Unscathed from Somali Attacker

Religion of Peace(TM)

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 03 Jan 2010 02:21

I think the best comeuppance for the Europeans over their consistent support to jihadis, is for them to become swamped by them:

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Jan 2010 07:36

London Summit on Terror Threat from Yemen

Britain has called a summit of world leaders in London later this month to discuss the terror threat posed by Yemen, seen with concern in the West as a new breeding ground for al-Qaeda- linked extremists.

The move comes after it emerged that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the young Nigerian who allegedly attempted to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas day, was trained in Yemen. He is reported to have told investigators that he was radicalised and trained in Yemen.

The conference, to be held alongside an international conference on Afghanistan on January 28, is said to have the support of U.S. President Barack Obama, the European Union and the Arab world.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 13 Jan 2010 08:36

Sociology paper

"Engineers of Jihad"
http://www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/users/gambetta ... 0Jihad.pdf

Abstract. We find that graduates from subjects such as science, engineering,
and medicine are strongly overrepresented among Islamist movements in the
Muslim world, though not among the extremist Islamic groups which have
emerged in Western countries more recently. We also find that engineers alone
are strongly over-represented among graduates in violent groups in both
realms. This is all the more puzzling for engineers are virtually absent from
left-wing violent extremists and only present rather than over-represented
among right-wing extremists. We consider four hypotheses that could explain
this pattern. Is the engineers’ prominence among violent Islamists an accident
of history amplified through network links, or do their technical skills make
them attractive recruits? Do engineers have a ‘mindset’ that makes them a
particularly good match for Islamism, or is their vigorous radicalization
explained by the social conditions they endured in Islamic countries? We
argue that the interaction between the last two causes is the most plausible
explanation of our findings, casting a new light on the sources of Islamic
extremism and grounding macro theories of radicalization in a micro-level
perspective.

also:

the odds of being both religious and conservative rather than anything else
are seven times greater for engineers relative to the odds of a social scientist.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 13 Jan 2010 18:40

So the choice for "South Asian" engineerwallahs is either BRF or Gitmo?

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 13 Jan 2010 20:14

How to be anxious

What is producing radicalism on British campuses, and what is producing warriors out of Somalia and Yemen and Pakistan are at one level connected by a narrative. But they may also require different responses. But more than terrorism, the military and political reaction to terrorism has been decisive. Societies with the ability to throw cold water, and not over-react or overestimate their own power, may be able to weather the inevitable storms. But the recent events have reminded us, how close we still are to the precipice of a suffocating and vicious political cycle.

The writer is president, Centre for Policy Research, Delhi

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 13 Jan 2010 21:13

How to be anxious

This article is so full of innuendo that I am unable to understand what the writer is trying to say.

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 13 Jan 2010 21:59

shiv wrote:
How to be anxious
This article is so full of innuendo that I am unable to understand what the writer is trying to say.

The difficulty is not yours alone. I have followed the works of Pratap Bhanu Mehta for some time and his heart and mind is in the right place, although he seems to be in a state of flux now on two issues, namely Islamism and Nationalism. My best guess is, he is having a rethink, not on the understanding of these but how to go about them.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 21 Jan 2010 19:50

Dozens of ex-prisoners head to Yemen after converting to Islam, alarming US officials
Tue Jan 19, 8:25 PM
By Anne Flaherty, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - U.S. law enforcement authorities believe as many as three dozen Americans who converted to Islam in prison have travelled to Yemen, possibly to train with al-Qaida, according to a Senate report.

The "radicalization" of the individuals has alarmed U.S. officials even though no evidence has tied them to terror activities. Several of the individuals have "dropped off the radar" for weeks at a time and continue to carry U.S. passports, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Associated Press.

The assessment was written by staff working for Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, a Democrat.

"Al-Qaeda's recruitment tactics also have changed," Kerry wrote in an introduction to the report. "The group seeks to recruit American citizens to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States."

Al-Qaida forces in Yemen have emerged in recent months as a pressing threat to U.S. security, with ties to a recent airline bombing plot and the shooting deaths of 13 people at the U.S. Army's Fort Hood post.

At the United Nations in New York, the U.N. Security Council committee that handles sanctions against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen branch of the international terror network, announced that the organization and two of its leaders will be subject to binding international sanctions including freezes on assets and an international travel ban.

The travel ban means the two men, Nasir al-Wahishi and Said al-Shihri, would be subject to arrest anywhere in the world. The U.S. Treasury also has imposed domestic sanctions against the Yemen organization and the two men.

The White House and Pentagon have said they have no plans to send ground troops there, and Yemen has made clear it would not want them. Remaining options would include covert strikes against al-Qaida targets and increased aid to help train and equip Yemen's own security forces.

Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command whose command territory includes Yemen, has said he would like to double military aid to that country, which currently is receiving about $67 million.

Kerry's report was expected to set the stage for a Wednesday public hearing on Yemen with testimony from senior State Department officials.

In addition to its finding that al-Qaida was trying actively to attract "nontraditional followers" who could penetrate U.S. security, the staff report concludes that al-Qaida has remained a viable threat.

"Despite setbacks, al-Qaida is not on the run," the report concludes.

Kerry's staff also cites as many as 10 non-Yemeni Americans, in addition to the nearly three dozen prisoners, who moved to Yemen, became Islamic fundamentalists and married Yemeni women to remain in the country.

"Described by one American official as 'blond-haired, blue eyed-types,' these individuals fit a profile of Americans whom Al Qaeda has sought to recruit over the past several years," the report states.

Tuesday's action at the United Nations was its latest of several against AQAP and the two officials. The organization has claimed responsibility for numerous terror acts targeting Saudi Arabia, Korea, Yemen and the United States since its inception in January 2009.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 23 Jan 2010 21:00

Sketching the face of jihadism is futile: US think tank

Washington, Jan 22 : Citing the case of Pakistani origin terror suspect David Headley, who changed his given name of Daood Gilani to fool Indian security services, a strategic think tank says any attempt at profiling jihadists is doomed to fail.

The new rules instituted by the US after the Christmas Day bomber attack to increase the screening of citizens or travellers from Pakistan and 13 other countries, "will be very popular in certain quarters," said Stratfor, which calls itself a global intelligence agency.

Conventional wisdom holds that such programmes will be effective in protecting the flying public from terrorist attacks because profiling is easy to do, it said. But "sketching the face of jihadism is simply not as easy as it might seem."

In support of its contention, Stratfor cited the case of ten persons, including Headley, "among many others, (who) were involved in jihadist activity but did not fit what most people would consider the typical jihadist profile."

Pakistan-based militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Jihad e-Islami sought to fool the Danish and Indian security services when they dispatched an American citizen named David Headley from Chicago to conduct pre-operational surveillance in Mumbai and Denmark, Stratfor noted.

"Headley, who was named Daood Gilani at his birth, legally changed his name to David Coleman Headley, anglicising his first name and taking his mother's maiden name."

"The name change and his American accent were apparently enough to throw intelligence agencies off his trail - in spite of his very aggressive surveillance activity."

"One of the big reasons we've witnessed men with names like Richard and Jose used in jihadist plots is because jihadist planners are adaptive and innovative. They will adjust the operatives they select for a mission in order to circumvent new security measures," Stratfor said.

Jihadist planners have now heard about the list of 14 countries and, demonstrating their adaptability, will undoubtedly try to use operatives who are not from one of those countries and choose flights that originate from other places as well, it said.

Noting that jihadists have frequently used this tactic to hide operatives' travel to training camps in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan, Stratfor said, "The difficulty of creating a reliable and accurate physical profile of a jihadist, and the adaptability and ingenuity of the jihadist planners, means that any attempt at profiling is doomed to fail."

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 24 Jan 2010 13:03

Top Jihadis

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... ies_of_one

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... _the_worst

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 27 Jan 2010 18:18

Shabaab suicide bomber kills seven at Mogadishu medical clinic
January 26, 2010 11:53 PM

Al Qaeda planning to dress up suicide bombers as Sikhs
Jan 27, 2010

Al Qaeda is planning to dress up suicide bombers as Sikhs and security chiefs fear that Muslim extremists may hide the explosives inside Sikh headgear. Al-Qaida is plotting to dress like Sikhs to exploit religious sensitivities about removing traditional clothing.

A security source said: “Dressing as a Sikh may give would-be suicide bombers the edge in getting past checkpoints. Security agents on the ground have been warned to be vigilant. Thorough body pat-downs are now regular practice, but the head area may be open to exploitation.”

“Ceramic weapons are also a concern, but we are working hard to deal with the threat,” the source said The new fears come after the UK terror alert status was raised last weekend from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe.’

Al-Qaeda thugs know Muslims may face extra scrutiny at security checkpoints so Osama bin Laden is even believed to have sent two beautiful women suicide bombers to target this week’s anti-terror summit in London. Last night Sikh groups acknowledged fanatics could use headgear worn by Sikh men with long hair in a bid to escape detection.

Dr Inderjit Singh, Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, said: “It is credible that a terrorist may attempt to use a turban to hide weapons or explosives, but in practice Sikhs are searched much like anyone else.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 02 Feb 2010 22:16

Five American muslims retract statement on joining jehad

Qaeda offers to train and arm Nigerian Muslims: SITE

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 22 Feb 2010 12:27

Investigation into alleged plot by Muslim soldiers kept quiet by US Army

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 22 Feb 2010 12:33

Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan and the 5 Moslems soldiers are namak harams!

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 23 Feb 2010 22:15

Senior Yemen al Qaeda leader threatens U.S. attacks: site

A senior member of al Qaeda's Yemen wing who the Yemeni government said it killed has emerged on an internet forum, threatening to carry out attacks in the United States.

In an audio tape posted earlier this month, Shehri, a former inmate of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, called for a regional holy war and a blockade of the Red Sea to cut off U.S. shipments to Israel.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 27 Feb 2010 22:02

10 die in al-Qaida-linked attack in Philippines: Officials
Feb 27, 2010

sumshyam · Post by **sumshyam** » 01 Mar 2010 23:16

JeM militant involved in Kandahar hijacking arrested in Bangladesh

DHAKA: Top JeM militant Nannu Mia alias Belal Mandol, who claimed to have played a key role in the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane in 1999 from Kathmandu to Kandahar, has been arrested along with four other militants near the Dhaka College, Bangladeshi officials have said.

Five operatives of the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, including its Pakistani coordinator in Bangladesh who was also a recruiter for operations in India, were nabbed, officials said on Sunday.

Of the five JeM activists, one is a Pakistani national while the remaining four are Bangladeshi citizens, said Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, Assistant Director of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

The arrest of Belal, who claims to be a native of north Bangladeshi town Shylet, along with Rezwan Ahmed is being considered as a major success by the local authorities.

RAB officials said they had learnt that Nannu was imprisoned in Guwahati for about 10 years, with more than four militancy-related cases pending against him in different courts in India.

However, sources in Delhi said they had no information whether Nannu was involved in the hijacking case.

Rezwan, 26, of Karachi, two brothers Imazuddin alias Munna and Sadek Hossain alias Khoka and Abu Naser Munshi were arrested during the special anti-militancy drive.