Lucknow siege: How 4 states - UP, Telangana, MP, Kerala - worked together to bust ISIS Khurasan modu

[Margarita]

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said the slain terror suspect, Saifullah, belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and is believed to be linked with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of MP on Tuesday.

Ashish Pandey | Posted by Ankit Misra
Hyderabad, March 8, 2017 | UPDATED 12:22 IST
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In what is being considered the first ever full-scale Islamic State (ISIS) operation in India, a suspected terrorist was killed on the outskirts of Lucknow in the wee hours today following a 12-hour siege and anti-terror operation.

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said the slain terror suspect, Saifullah, belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and is believed to be linked with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, in which at least 10 people were injured, three of them critically.

HERE IS HOW 4 STATES CAME TOGETHER TO BUST THE ISIS MODULE:

1. The Kerala Police shared info on the Syrian handler talking to UP boys and their movement in MP with Telangana Police. The information was later shared with UP and MP Police.
2. Telangana passed on the information to police in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh on the ISIS Khurasan module and their planned attack.
3. Telangana cops were tracking the online chat originating from UP and MP with the Syrian handler before the blast took blast in Shajapur, MP.
4. The location of boys was clear and their movement was notified to the concerned police departments.
5. MP Police arrested Atif Muzaffar alias Al Qasim (Kanpur), Mohammad Danish alias Zafar (Kanpur), Sayed Mir Hussain alias Hamza (Aligarh) from Hoshanagabad, Piparia.
6. Based on information received from them, the UP Police arrested Mohammad Faisal Khan and Mohammad Imran from Kanpur.
7. They seized a laptop and mobile phones from them. It had ISIS-related videos and ISIS literature.
8. One more suspect, Fakre Alam alas Rishu, was then arrested from Etawah.
9. Telangana Police coordinated with Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu on a day-to-day basis and share information.
10. Telangana Police has been keeping a record of the ISIS module since 2011. The Telangana team has reportedly de-radicalised 19 men since 2015.
11. Telangana Police had caught 6 Hyderabad men from Kolkata in 2015. They were allegedly radicalised and wanted to move to Syria through Bangladesh.
12. In 2016, with the help of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a massive country-wide raid was conducted in January and 18 men arrested from all over the country, most from Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Meerut.
13. In June 2016, seven Hyderabad-based men were arrested and explosives seized from them. Yazdani brothers, both engineers, ran that group.
14. During the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the ISIS module wanted to target locations in the state, but due to enhanced security, they went to neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.
15. They wanted to trigger IED in the Ujjain train blast through a mobile phone, but that couldn't happen due to technical glitches. Police said they got training through internet.

What is ISIS Khurasan module?

• A big fraction of Tehreek-e-Taliban of Pakistan (TTP) has been named as the ISIS Khurasan group. They operate in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• Apart from that, they also recruit in Bangladesh through the Khurasan Dhaka group. The cafe attack in Dhaka last year was done by the same group.
• In December 2016, the NIA found details of 17 members of Khurasan module. They were arrested and are currently in the NIA Custody.
• Four men from Hyderabad were arrested in January 2016. Three more from Thane have allegedly fled to Syria are a part of the Khurasan group.
• Their handler in Syria reportedly communicates with them through TOR, a telegram messaging app. The app can't be tracked since messages are coded.
• The 21 men missing from Kerala since early 2016 are also believed to be a part of the ISIS Khurasan group.

 

[Pakistan First]

Job well done.

ISIS is a global threat and every country must work with urgency, firm commitment and zero tolerance to eradicate this menace.