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A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here on Saturday found two Coimbatore residents guilty of recruiting and propagating the ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), police said. The Special Court for Trial of NIA Cases, Kochi convicted Muhammad Azharudeen (27) of Anbu Nagar, Ukkadam, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, and Shiek Hidayathulla alias Firoz Khan (35) of South Ukkadam. Judge N Seshadrinathan noted that both were guilty of offences punishable under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 120B (conspiracy), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) section 38 (membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (supporting a terrorist organisation), and convicted them accordingly. During the hearing on the sentence, both accused requested the court to take a lenient view, citing their family backgrounds. "Hidayathulla is remanded to Viyyur High Security Prison for two days halt. For pronouncing sentence, both accused to be produced on September 29 physically," the cour
In a joint operation, Delhi Police's Special Cell, Jharkhand Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Ranchi police have arrested two suspected ISIS operatives, an official said on Wednesday. The prime accused, identified as Bokaro native Ashar Danish, was arrested from Ranchi, he said. He was wanted in a case registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell related to an ISIS-linked module. Another suspect, Aftab, was apprehended from Delhi during coordinated action carried out simultaneously by the teams, according to police. Preliminary investigation suggests that both were in touch with other members of an ISIS-inspired network and were engaged in activities aimed at furthering the terror outfit's agenda in India, source in the operation said. Danish had been on the radar of security agencies for several months.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has searched 21 locations in five states and in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir as part of its probe in a terror conspiracy case linked with the ISIS and other terrorist organisations, officials said on Tuesday. The searches were conducted in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as well as Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, they said. The NIA, which took over the case from Kayar police in Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu in June this year, seized several digital devices, including mobile phones, along with incriminatory documentary materials during the searches, according to an official statement. The case emanated with the arrest of one Akhlathur alias Mohammed Akhlque Mujahid, who allegedly conspired with others to commit terrorist acts in India, it said. "He was further found to have connections with multiple entities in Pakistan and Syria," the NIA said. The conspiracy was aimed at gathering men
Attacks by an Islamic State-backed rebels killed at least 52 people between Aug. 9 and 16, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo said Monday. The UN mission, known as MONUSCO, said in a statement that the attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) took place in several localities of Beni and Lubero territories, in the North Kivu province. The violence was accompanied by abductions, looting, the burning of homes, vehicles, and motorcycles, as well as the destruction of property belonging to populations already facing dire humanitarian conditions, the statement read, adding that the death toll is likely to rise. Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the Islamic State, operates along the border with Uganda and often targets civilians. The group killed nearly 40 people in the Ituri province last month, when it stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire
NSA Ajit Doval on Tuesday called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers of cross border terror to account, widely seen as a demand to act against Pakistan-backed terrorism. In his address at a conclave of top security officials of the SCO, Doval said India is "deeply concerned" about continued threat from UN-proscribed terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Al Qaeda, ISIS and its affiliates. The NSA said New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor to dismantle terror infrastructure and deter terrorists from carrying out attacks in India following the Pahalgam terror strike. In response to the attack in Pahalgam in which TRF, a proxy of LeT, killed 26 Indian and Nepalese nationals and injured several others after segregating them on the basis of religion, India launched Operation Sindoor to dismantle terror infrastructure, he said. Doval said India's actions were "measured and non escalatory". The NSA ...
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday chargesheeted five more people in the ISIS-inspired Coimbatore car bomb explosion case of 2022, an official statement said. In its fourth supplementary chargesheet in the case, the NIA has charged Sheikh Hidayathullah, Umar Faaruq, Pavas Rahman, Sharan Mariappan and Aboo Hanifa for their involvement in terror financing and other activities linked with the terror attack that had targeted a Hindu temple, Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil, in Coimbatore, it said. With this, a total of 17 accused have been chargesheeted in the case so far, it said. In its latest chargesheet, the NIA has filed a fresh set of terror financing charges against Sheikh Hidayathullah and Umar Faaruq. The duo was chargesheeted earlier for other offences in the case, said the statement issued by the probe agency. The two orchestrated a fake Covid vaccine certificate scam in 2021-2022 and used the funds to procure materials for explosives and other ...
The Delhi High Court has refused to grant bail to an alleged member of ISIS in a terror case by NIA over radicalisation of youths using cyber space. A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma dismissed the bail plea by Md Heydaitullah, who allegedly used Telegram groups to propagate the ideology of the terrorist group in India and recruit other persons. The accused challenged a trial court order declining any relief on the ground that mere association or support to a terrorist organisation would not constitute an offence under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The court rejected the contention, and said Heydaitullah, a qualified MBA graduate working at an IT company in Gurugram, was not a "passive" supporter as material showed that he advocated "Jihad in order to establish Khilafat" even through violent means. "The Appellant admittedly in 2018 had taken an oath (Bayath) in the name of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Abu Bakr al ..
New Orleans attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar acted alone even though there are indications that he had strong support for ISIS, US President Joe Biden has said. At least 14 people were killed and 35 others were injured after Jabbar drove his pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street early Wednesday. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism. Jabbar, 42, a former veteran, also died in a shootout with the local police. A resident of Houston, he drove to New Orleans. Today, the FBI briefed me that, as of now, we have no information that anyone else is involved in the attack. They've established that the attacker was the same person who planted the explosives in those ice coolers in two nearby locations in the French Quarter just a few hours before he rammed into the crowd with his vehicle, Biden told reporters at the White House on Thursday. In response to a question, Biden said he is trying to travel to New Orleans. They assess he had a remote detonator in his vehicle
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condemned the terrorist attack in New Orleans, which has killed 15 people, and expressed condolences to the families of victims. "We strongly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack in New Orleans. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. May they find strength and solace as they heal from this tragedy," PM Modi said on X. A driver wreaked carnage on New Orleans' famed French Quarter early on New Year's Day, as he rammed a pickup truck into a crowd before being shot to death by police, authorities said. More than 30 people were injured as Wednesday's attack turned festive Bourbon Street in the USA into macabre mayhem. The FBI said it is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism and it does not believe the driver acted alone. An Islamic State group flag was found on the vehicle's trailer hitch, it said.
Law enforcement agencies in Pakistan's Punjab province have arrested 44 alleged terrorists of ISIS, Al-Qaeda and TTP who were plotting to attack important government installations and personalities, police said on Monday. According to the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab Police, the suspected terrorists have been arrested during the last month in combined intelligence operations in different parts of the province. The CTD said it conducted 794 intelligence-based operations in different cities of Punjab in which 44 suspected terrorists belonging to banned organisations -- ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi -- were arrested. It said the arrested terrorists have been arrested in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Narowal, Sialkot, Khaniwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhang, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur. The CTD said 10,275 grams of explosives, one explosive vest, three pistols, one hand grenade, three IED bombs, three ball baring boxes,
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday chargesheeted 17 hardcore agents of the proscribed global terrorist organisation ISIS for being part of a conspiracy involving radicalisation of youth and fabrication of improvised explosive devices, according to an official statement. The NIA had originally chargesheeted three persons in March 2023 and filed its supplementary chargesheet before the special court at Patiala House in New Delhi on Monday against 17 others, of whom 15 are from Maharashtra and one each from Uttarakhand and Haryana, it said. This takes the total number of accused chargesheeted in the case, which had exposed global linkages with foreign handlers, to 20, said the statement issued by the federal probe agency. The accused, chargesheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act, "were found to have been engaged in a massive ISIS conspiracy involving recruitment, training and ..
Pakistani and US officials have held their latest talks in Washington on how to expand cooperation in tackling the threat posed to regional security by an affiliate of the Islamic State group and the Pakistani Taliban, Pakistan's foreign ministry said Monday. A joint statement said Pakistani diplomat Haider Shah and the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, Ambassador Elizabeth Richard, chaired the weekend talks. The talks occurred amid a surge in militants attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and an Afghan branch of the Islamic State group. The TTP is an ally of the Afghan Taliban that seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan's military recently said a suicide bombing that killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in March was planned in Afghanistan and that the bomber was an Afghan citizen. Kabul has denied the charge.