The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested two key members of the Hyderabad Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) module which they had unearthed last month.
Yasir Niamatullah, Chief of the Hyderabad module, and Athaullah Rehman, a motivator who raised funds, have been arrested by NIA. They are being produced in court today.Sources, Telangana Intelligence Department
On 29 June, the NIA had arrested five city-based people on charges of their involvement in the terror module suspected to be linked to ISIS and conspiring to carry out bomb attacks.
On 1 July, they were remanded in police custody for 12 days.
The five – Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani alias ‘Ibbu’, Habeeb Mohammed alias ‘Sir’, Mohammed Ilyas Yazdani, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Amoodi, and Muzaffar Hussain Rizwan – were arrested following a series of searches conducted at 10 locations in the Old City area, with the assistance of Hyderabad Police.
According to the agency, the gang was preparing improvised explosive devices for carrying out blasts, and was being guided by an online handler, suspected to be based in Iraq or Syria.
Along with the explosive materials, the NIA had recovered two semi-automatic pistols with ammunition, an air gun with telescopic sight, and a large number of digital gadgets.
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