Al Qaeda

Al Qaida Gujarat terror conspiracy case: NIA conducts searches in 5 states

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted searches at 10 locations across five states in an Al Qaida Gujarat terror conspiracy case allegedly involving illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, officials said on Thursday. NIA teams conducted searches at premises on Wednesday linked with various suspects and their associates in West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya, Haryana and Gujarat, an agency spokesperson said in a statement. The official said several digital devices and documents were seized that have been sent for forensic analysis. The case was registered in 2023 and centres around four Bangladeshi nationals -- Mohd. Sojibmiyan, Munna Khalid Ansari, Azarul Islam, and Abdul Latif -- had illegally infiltrated into India from Bangladesh using forged Indian identity documents, the NIA alleged. "They were found to be connected with the proscribed Al-Qaida terrorist organisation. The men were involved in collection and transfer of funds to Al Qaida operatives in Bangladesh, and were al

Maharashtra ATS questions Thane teacher over 'terror' links of Pune techie

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has questioned a teacher in Thane in connection with the arrest of a Pune-based software engineer for his alleged links with Al Qaeda and other banned outfits, officials said on Wednesday. The teacher's house at Mumbra in Thane district was used for one of the meetings by the arrested engineer, Zubair Hangargekar, they said. The ATS nabbed Hangargekar (37) on October 27 for his alleged links with banned outfits, such as Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, and for his suspected involvement in radicalisation activities. During the investigation, the ATS had found a Pakistani contact number saved on his old phone. While probing further, the ATS learned that Hangargekar had visited Mumbra for one of his meetings. Accordingly, the ATS officials visited the teacher's house on Tuesday and enquired about Hangargekar and his meeting, an official said. The teacher is neither an accused nor a witness in the case, he said. The ATS tol

US counterterrorism agency issues warning over threat from al Qaeda

Memo urged govt officials to avoid surveillance, to not post or publicly share details about travel plans, schedules and locations, and to remove badges and other forms of identification out of work

IS, al-Qaeda threat intense in Africa, with growing risks in Syria: UN

The threat from Islamic State and al-Qaeda extremists and their affiliates is most intense in parts of Africa, and risks are growing in Syria, which both groups view as a strategic base for external operations, UN experts said in a new report. Their report to the UN Security Council circulated Wednesday said West Africa's al-Qaeda-linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin group, known as JNIM, and East Africa's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab have continued to increase the territory under their control. The experts monitoring sanctions against the two groups said the organisation's pivot towards parts of Africa continued" partly because of Islamic State losses in the Middle East due to counterterrorism pressures. There are also increasing concerns about foreign terrorist fighters returning to Central Asia and Afghanistan, aiming to undermine regional security, they said. The Islamic State also continues to represent the most significant threat to Europe and the Americas, the experts said

US revokes foreign terrorist designation of Syria's HTS

HTS was labelled a terrorist group by the US in 2018 because of its previous connections to al-Qaeda. However, in late January, it was disbanded and the fighters were integrated into Syrian military

20 years since 7/7 attack: How London bombings changed the UK forever

Britain marks 20 years since the 7/7 London bombings that killed 52 and injured nearly 800. A look back at the attacks, the failed 21/7 plot, investigations, and their lasting impact on the UK

Hold perpetrators of cross-border terror to account: NSA Doval at SCO meet

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 ...

Leaving for 5-nation visit, Tharoor says, "Won't be silenced by terrorism"

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading a multi-party delegation to five countries, has asserted the mission would be to give the world the message that "we will not be silenced by terrorism" and that "we don't want the world to look away either". Tharoor made the remarks late last night just before his delegation left for a visit to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the United States. In a video message posted on X, Tharoor said, "I'm heading off to five countries leading an all-party delegation to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the United States, and the reason we are going is to speak for the nation, to speak about this horrendous crisis we were subjected to in which our country was attacked by terrorists in the cruellest possible way." The Thiruvananthapuram MP said the delegation is a mission of peace and hope, and will one day remind the world that India stands for all the values "we need to preserve in the world today". "We need to speak up with clarity and ...

Newly disclosed documents reveal more details of evidence in 9/11 attacks

Newly unsealed documents give one of the most detailed views yet of the evidence gathered on the accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, including how prosecutors allege he and others interacted with the hijackers who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks. The summaries of evidence released Thursday include Mohammed's own statements over the years, phone records and other documents alleging coordination between Mohammed and the hijackers, videos included in al-Qaida's planning for the attacks and prosecutors' summaries of government simulations of the flights of the four airliners that day. But few other details were given. Also to be presented are the photos and death certificates of 2,976 people killed that day at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field, where the fourth airliner commandeered by the al-Qaida hijackers smashed into the ground after a revolt by passengers. The newly revealed framework of military prosecutors' potential case ...

Lawyers try hard for bail plea of accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Mohammed

Mohammed is due to enter his plea Friday morning in the attacks, in which 19 al-Qaida hijackers smashed airliners into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon

STF of Assam Police arrest 2 more members of Ansarullah Bangla Team

On December 21, the STF had arrested eight members of ABT, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) terrorist organisation

After Assad's ouster, Syrian rebel leader puts his stamp on the state

The appointment of Mohammed al-Bashir as Syria's new interim prime minister on Monday underlined the group's status as the most powerful of the armed groups

India, Brazil, South Africa push for efforts to counter Al-Qaeda, ISIS, LeT

During the meeting, the ministers urged collective action against all terrorist individuals and entities designated by the United Nations

Drone strike in Syria kills Saudi militant from an al-Qaida-linked group

A drone strike in northwestern Syria on Friday killed a Saudi militant from an al-Qaida-linked group as he was riding on a motorcycle, a war monitor and local residents said. The strike in the Jabal al-Zawiya area of the opposition-held Idlib province was believed to have been carried out by a US-led coalition that was established years ago to fight the militant Islamic State group. There was no immediate comment from the US military, which has carried out a series of attacks over the past several years targeting al-Qaida-linked militants in northwestern Syria. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, said the killed man was identified as Abu Abdul Rahman Makki, a Saudi citizen and former leader of the now-defunct extremist Jund al-Aqsa militant group. Local media activist Kenana Hindawi said the motorcycle Makki was riding was hit by two missiles. The US National Counterterrorism Centre currently lists Makki as a leader in the Horas al-Din, o

Delhi Police busts Al Qaeda terror module, detains 14 people from 3 states

The Delhi Police on Thursday claimed to have busted an Al Qaeda terror module after detaining 14 people from Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. After receiving intelligence inputs, an operation was conducted along with the police forces of the states, officials said. "The module, as per current state of operations, was being led by one Dr. Ishtiyaq of Ranchi (Jharkhand), and it was aspiring to declare 'khilafat' and execute serious terrorist activities within the country," a Delhi Police statement said. The members of the terror module were trained, including in handling weapons, at various locations, it said. The statement said six people were detained from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan while they were undergoing training to handle weapons, and eight from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh for questioning, it said. They are being interrogated and additional detentions are anticipated. Raids are being conducted to recover arms, ammunition and documents, the officials said.

Delhi police put up posters of terrorists ahead of I-Day to raise awareness

Police said that the security measures are taken to raise awareness among the people and help police track the terrorists

9/11 plotters agree to plead guilty 20 yrs after Twin Tower attack in US

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and two of his alleged accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and murder charges

Al-Qaeda's primary plotter of 9/11 attacks agrees to plead guilty

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused as the main plotter in al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, has agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said, pointing to a long-delayed resolution in an attack that altered the course of the United States and much of the Middle East. He and two accomplices, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to enter the pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as soon as next week. Pentagon officials declined to immediately release the terms of the plea bargain. The New York Times, citing unidentified Pentagon officials, said the terms included the men's longstanding condition that they be spared risk of the death penalty. The US agreement with the men to enter into a plea agreement comes more than 16 years after their prosecution began for al-Qaeda's attack. It comes more than 20 years after militants flew commandeered commercial airliners into buildings. The attack killed nearly 3,000 people and ..

Terrorism, organised crime rampant in Sahel, spilling into West Africa: UN

Terrorism and organised crime by violent extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State are a pervasive threat in Africa's volatile Sahel region and are spilling over to West Africa's coastal countries, the top UN envoy for the area warned on Friday. Leonardo Simao, the UN special representative for the Sahel and West Africa, said the focus on combating terrorism has had limited effect in stopping rampant illegal trafficking in the Sahel and the effort needs more police. It's drugs, it's weapons, it's human beings, it's mineral resources, and even food, Simao said after briefing the UN Security Council. According to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' new report on the Sahel and West Africa, hundreds of people have been killed in the first half of 2024 alone in terrorist attacks, many of them civilians.. The vast majority of deaths occurred in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, whose ruling military juntas in March announced a joint security force to fight terrorism, though t

Pak police arrest 44 ISIS, Al-Qaeda, TTP terrorists from Punjab province

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,