Four ISIS terrorists, natives of Sri Lanka, arrested at Ahmedabad airport

• Image Credit: Google

• May 20, 2024 | Pinaki Goswami

DGP Sahay disclosed that the terrorists were in contact with an ISIS operative named Abu in Pakistan...

Digital Desk: Four terrorists linked with the Islamic State (ISIS) were apprehended at Ahmedabad airport, according to a report by the police on Monday. The individuals, identified as Mohamed Nusrath, Mohamed Nafran, Mohamed Faris, and Mohamed Rasdeen, were reportedly on a mission orchestrated by their Pakistani handler to execute suicide attacks in Gujarat.

Deputy General of Police Vikas Sahay briefed the media, revealing that the four terrorists, all natives of Sri Lanka, had been radicalized by ISIS ideology. Sahay noted that the men communicated only in Tamil and were not conversant in Hindi or English. The suspects arrived in Chennai from Colombo and subsequently traveled to Ahmedabad on Sunday, May 19.

The DGP detailed the intelligence operation that led to the arrests: "We received information that four terrorists would arrive in Ahmedabad around May 18 or 19, either by train or flight. Teams were formed and strategies were devised based on this intelligence. We analyzed passenger lists of trains and flights from the south and found all four traveling from Chennai to Ahmedabad on the same PNR number via an Indigo flight. Verification was also conducted in Colombo."

Upon their arrest, the police confiscated two mobile phones, currency from both India and Sri Lanka, Pakistan-manufactured weapons, and an Islamic State flag. DGP Sahay disclosed that the terrorists were in contact with an ISIS operative named Abu in Pakistan, who had assigned them the suicide attack mission in Gujarat, providing Rs 4 lakh for bomb-making.

Further investigations of their phones revealed potential target locations near Ahmedabad where the attacks were likely to be executed.