Four suspected ISIS terrorists from Lanka arrested at Ahmedabad airport

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested four suspected ISIS terrorists at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, said a report by the Hindustan Times yesterday.

The ATS, in a brief note, said the four accused, who were arrested from the airport, were Sri Lankan citizens and terrorists of the Islamic State, reported PTI.

The Gujarat ATS has taken the suspects to an undisclosed location for intensive questioning, according to TV9 Gujarati. The precise motive behind their presence at the Ahmedabad airport is not clear.

The terrorists reportedly reached Ahmedabad via Chennai from Sri Lanka. They were in touch with Pakistani handlers, according to local media reports.

Security has been heightened across the airport.

The arrests were made ahead of the arrival of three IPL teams at the Ahmedabad airport for the qualifier and eliminator games.

In March, two top-rung leaders of ISIS in India were arrested near the international border after they crossed over from Bangladesh. The arrested ISIS cadres were identified as Harish Ajmal Farooqi alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi, a resident of Dehradun in Uttarakhand, and Anurag Singh alias Rehan, a resident of Panipat in Haryana.

Both individuals were described as highly indoctrinated and motivated leaders of ISIS in India, involved in various activities including recruitment, terror funding, and planning terror acts using improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

“They had furthered the cause of ISIS in India through conspiracies to carry out recruitment, terror funding and terror acts by means of IEDs at several places across India,” the police official said.

According to the STF, several cases were registered against these two by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), New Delhi and ATS, Lucknow.

In October last year, Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama, a suspected ISIS terrorist who was on the most wanted list of the NIA, was arrested by the Delhi Police during a major crackdown by the anti-terror agency. Shahnawaz was wanted in the Pune ISIS module case and the NIA had declared a reward money of INR 3 lakh for credible information leading to his arrest.