The 11 ISIS suspects nabbed in Hyderabad were planning coordinated terror strikes apart from triggering communal skirmishes across the country during Ramzan, sources in investigating agencies said on Thursday.
Sources in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said the prime targets for the alleged ISIS module were identified as VVIP areas, important installations and hi-tech companies.
NIA officials have seized target boards used for shooting practice, two pistols, an air gun, explosive substances (urea, acids, hydrogen peroxide) and other material used for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
About Rs 15 lakh in cash were seized from them, which the men claimed was earned from trade but the NIA suspects was sent to them through hawala rackets.
This would have been the first ISIS attack on Indian soil had they succeeded, but the agencies thwarted it before the men could go ahead with the plan.
Investigators are now probing the hawala operators who allegedly helped ISIS send money to India. They believe considerable amount of money was sent to ISIS members in India to create a base for the dreaded terror organisation.
What led the police to their hideout was their recent purchase of chemical fertilisers and other substances used for making explosives. The preliminary investigations, according to sources, revealed that the gang was making IED's for carrying out explosions and were being guided online by a handler based in Iraq or Syria.
Top NIA sources also said they had done a detailed study on triacetate triperoxide (TATP), an explosive made - often by al-Qaeda - by evaporating concentrated hydrogen peroxide, acetone and sulphuric acid.
ISIS-Linked Terror Arrests from Hyderabad in Last Two Years
September 2014: 15 students, including a girl from the city, were arrested in West Bengal while trying to cross into Bangladesh to join ISIS. They were left off after counselling as they had no criminal background.
January 2015: A 32-year-old man named Salman Mohiuddin was arrested by police at Hyderabad airport. He was on his way to Dubai and was planning to join ISIS after reaching Syria via Turkey.
March 2015: An MS student from America and a native of Hyderabad, Hafeez, joined ISIS in US. He later travelled to Syria and was killed by the Syrian Army.
September 2015: 38-year-old Nicky Joseph alias Asfa Jabeen from Hyderabad was an alleged recruiter for ISIS. UAE deported her to India.
December 2015: Three missing men from Hyderabad – Faruqui Hussaini, Abdul Basit and Mohammad Hussain arrested by the Maharashtra ATS. They were the same people who were let off in September 2014.
January 2016: Two men from the city arrested by the NIA. One was 54-year-old.
June 2016: 11 youth from the city arrested by the NIA for planning ISIS attacks across India.
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