National Investigation Agency busts IS module

Hyderabad: In a meticulous move that thwarted a series of major attacks in several crowded spots in Hyderabad, the sleuths of National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday busted an alleged Islamic State (IS) module in the city with the arrest of five terror suspects and detention of six others.

The NIA teams from Delhi and Hyderabad conducted simultaneous raids on 12 places across the Old City after confirming that the suspects were receiving inputs from an unidentified module outside the country.

All the suspects are said to be IS sympathisers and aged between 20 and 42. They were allegedly plotting bomb attacks and indiscriminate firing on shopping malls and crowded places in the city, NIA sources said.

Two .9 mm pistols, 23 mobile phones, Rs 15 lakh in cash, some IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devises), ammonium nitrate (used in bomb making), one Tablet, one CPU, three laptops, seven pen drives, four imported knives, several screw drivers, three paint boxes, one pressure cooker, one heater timer, one condenser, two clocks, two pairs of masks and gloves, one airgun, nails, two airgun target boards and some chemicals, which are yet to be analysed were seized during the raid. Preliminary probe by the NIA revealed that the IT corridor was the prime target of the terror suspects.

Sources said the independent module came into existence about 14 months ago in the city when the prime suspect and techie Ibrahim Yazdani returned from Saudi Arabia.

But, the module came under the radar of Central agencies about six months ago.The arrested terror suspects have been identified as Mohammad Ibrahim Yazdani (29), a computer professional who returned from Saudi Arabia, his brother Mohammad Ilyas Yazdani (24), owner of Meeseva centre at Talab Katta, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Amodi alias Fahad (30), BBA graduate and expert in automobile modification from Charminar, Mohammad Irfan alias Yaqaus Irfan (27), motor mechanic from Mir Alam Mandi, and Habeeb Mohammad (32), A 1 Net Centre at Barkas, under Sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act and Sections 18-B, 38 (part of terrorist organisation) and Section 39 (supporting terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The NIA teams found that repeated calls were made to foreign countries that are under the IS hold. The calls were traced to Hafeezbaba Nagar, Shah Ali Banda and Hussaini Alam areas.

According to police sources, Ibrahim Yazdani and Habeeb Mohammed were prime suspects in the case, who maintained regular communication with the IS. They all used to gather at A1 Net World to discuss their agenda.

Ibrahim, who completed Engineering in Electrical and Electronics from Anwar Ul Uloom College in Vikarabad had been to Saudi Arabia before returning to India.

He also worked for Amazon as a delivery boy for some time. With his expertise in using internet and social media, he created several Facebook accounts to communicate with like-minded people and recruited youth for the IS.

Ibrahim also used other modes of communication for this purpose. A few days ago, some of the detainees even practiced shooting in remote areas in Chandrayangutta and Bandlaguda areas, the sources said.

The teams detained Syed Naimath Ullah Hussaini alias Yaser Niamathullah (42), a textile businessman from Moghalpura, Muzaffar Hussain Rizwan alias Rizwan (29), an unemployed youth from of Talab Katta, Mohd Ataullah Rahman (30) of Bandlaguda, Abdul alias Al Jeelani Abdul Qader Mohsin Mahmood (32) of Chandrayangutta, AM Azhar (20), an Intermediate student from Talab Katta and Mohammed Arbaz Ahmed (21), a computer graduate from Bandlaguda.

Despite the police seizing explosive material from the possession of the suspects, parents of some of the detainees claimed that their children were innocent. They reached the NIA nodal office at Begumpet and demanded that the teams allow them to meet their children.The officials, however, said investigation was on and detainees were being questioned to find out their role in the conspiracy.