News Analysis India

Tag: ISIS

  • ‘India Stands With Russia In Hour Of Grief’: PM Modi Condemns Moscow Concert Hall Attack |

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday condemned the terror attack inside a packed concert hall in Moscow on Saturday, calling it a ‘heinous act’ and expressing solidarity with the Russian government and its people. “We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation in this hour of grief,” PM Modi posted from his X handle.

     

    We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation in this hour of grief.
    — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2024

     

    According to reports, a group of armed men stormed into the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow and opened fire and detonated explosives among the crowd on Friday (local time). The ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack at the concert venue complex near Moscow Friday that left at least 60 dead and 145 injured after assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices, CNN reported.

    The terror group claimed responsibility for the attack in a short statement published by ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram on Friday. However, the ISIS did not provide any evidence to support the claim. Video footage from the site of the attack showed the Crocus City Hall concert venue on fire, with thick, black smoke filling the air.

    It also showed scared locals huddling, screaming and ducking behind cushioned seats as gunshots rang out in the vast hall. State-run RIA Novosti reported the armed individuals “opened fire with automatic weapons” and “threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire.” They then “allegedly fled in a white Renault car”, the news agency reported.

    The claim by the Islamic State was also confirmed by US officials shortly afterwards, the New York Times reported. The US officials said they had privately apprised Russian officials about the intelligence pointing to an impending attack, the New York Times reported.

    The US gathered intelligence in March that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, the branch of the group based in Afghanistan, had been planning an attack on Moscow, according to officials. ISIS members have been active in Russia, a US official said.

    After a period of relative quiet, the Islamic State has been trying to increase its external attacks, according to US counterterrorism officials. Most of those plots in Europe have been thwarted, prompting assessments that the group has diminished capabilities.

    The attack on Friday in Moscow, followed by the one in Iran in January, could prompt a reassessment of its ability to strike outside its home territory, according to the NYT.

    “ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years,” frequently criticising President Vladimir Putin in its propaganda, said Colin P Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at the Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in New York. “ISIS-K accuses the Kremlin of having Muslim blood in its hands, referencing Moscow’s interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria,” he added.

    The US officials said in addition to publicly warning on March 7 about a possible attack, they had privately told Russian officials about the intelligence pointing to an impending attack, the New York Times reported. But, it is not clear how much information Washington gave to the Moscow officials beyond what was in the public warning.

    Earlier, the US had also warned Iran of a possible attack ahead of twin bombings in January that killed at least 103 people and wounded 211 others at a memorial service for Iran’s former top general, Qassim Suleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike four years before. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for that attack too.

    Meanwhile, regional governor Andrey Vorobyov said everything was being done to save people in what is now the deadliest terror attack on Moscow in decades. A SWAT team was called to the area and more than 70 ambulance teams and doctors were assisting victims.

    115 people have been hospitalised, including five children, the Russian Health Ministry told TASS. 60 people are in a ‘serious condition’. Moscow City Duma Chairman Alexey Shaposhnikov called on Moscow residents to donate blood to help treat victims, saying that “this is a matter of life and death for dozens of people,” CNN reported.

  • Suspected ISIS terrorist nabbed from Jharkhand’s Lohardaga

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: A joint team of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Delhi Police have arrested an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist Faizan Ansari from Jharkhand’s Lohardaga. NIA sources claimed that he was in contact with the ISIS network within and outside the country through the dark net.

    Ansari was also said to be in contact with Pakistan’s intelligence agency. Later in the afternoon, he was produced before the NIA court and sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.

    A student of Aligarh Muslim University, Ansari was living with his family in Lohardaga for the last two months and was operating from there. He came in contact with the ISIS network while studying at Aligarh Muslim University. NIA, along with other agencies, is said to have kept a tab on his activities for the last few weeks.

    “Ansari was in regular contact with his handlers and was also trying to build a network in Jharkhand,” claimed NIA sources. Many incriminating videos, pen drives and other objectionable items related to radical Islamist ideology have been found from Ansari, they added.

    As per the information received, the terrorist organization was trying to set up a strong network in Jharkhand and was in contact with several youths in and outside Lohardaga in Jharkhand.

    His father Firoz Ansari, originally from Bihar, is working with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on a contractual basis and had been living in Lohardaga for the last 20 years after constructing a house. After the arrest of Fizan Ansari, his parents and other family members went elsewhere after locking the house.

    RANCHI: A joint team of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Delhi Police have arrested an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist Faizan Ansari from Jharkhand’s Lohardaga. NIA sources claimed that he was in contact with the ISIS network within and outside the country through the dark net.

    Ansari was also said to be in contact with Pakistan’s intelligence agency. Later in the afternoon, he was produced before the NIA court and sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.

    A student of Aligarh Muslim University, Ansari was living with his family in Lohardaga for the last two months and was operating from there. He came in contact with the ISIS network while studying at Aligarh Muslim University. NIA, along with other agencies, is said to have kept a tab on his activities for the last few weeks.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “Ansari was in regular contact with his handlers and was also trying to build a network in Jharkhand,” claimed NIA sources. Many incriminating videos, pen drives and other objectionable items related to radical Islamist ideology have been found from Ansari, they added.

    As per the information received, the terrorist organization was trying to set up a strong network in Jharkhand and was in contact with several youths in and outside Lohardaga in Jharkhand.

    His father Firoz Ansari, originally from Bihar, is working with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on a contractual basis and had been living in Lohardaga for the last 20 years after constructing a house. After the arrest of Fizan Ansari, his parents and other family members went elsewhere after locking the house.

  • Kanpur terror conspiracy case: Seven ‘ISIS operatives’ awarded death sentence, one gets lifer

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: A special NIA court in Lucknow Tuesday awarded death sentence to seven suspected Islamic State (ISIS) operatives and life term to one in connection with the Kanpur terror conspiracy case.

    The self-radicalized convicts awarded death sentences, included Mohammad Faisal, Gaus Mohammad Khan, Mohammad Azhar, Atiq Muzaffer, Mohammad Danish, Mohammad Sayyed Meer Hussain, and Asif Iqbal. One Mohammad Atif alias Asif Irani was awarded life imprisonment.

    All eight convicts were arrested in Kanpur in 2017 in connection with planning terror acts. Delivering the sentence, Special NIA court judge VS Tripathi observed that the case fell in the rarest of rare category and the convicts were entitled to the severest punishment.

    The FIR in the case was registered at ATS police station in Lucknow on March 8, 2017. In fact, ATS had got information about the plan of the members of the banned terror outfit ISIS to carry out blasts at different places across the country. Kanpur ATS first arrested Mohammad Faisal and later his disclosures led the ATS sleuths to nab the others.

    As per the public prosecutor, the accused had conducted a test blast at Ganga Ghat in Unnao. The probe also claimed that the accused had the plan to blast Kanpur-Unnao railway track and a bomb was planted there also. They had also planted bombs at different places during the Dussehra celebrations.

    ATS had filed the charge sheet in the case on August 31, 2017 and had included one Saifulla also. Saifullah was later killed in an encounter in the Dubagga area of the state capital on March 7, 2017.

    According to public prosecutor KK Sharma,  all seven convicts who were given death sentence were convicted under Section 121 (waging war against the country) of IPC along with charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

    While Mohammed Atif Irani, who has been given life sentence, was convicted under section 121 (A) (conspiracy) of IPC along with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

    The NIA investigations revealed that the accused had prepared and tested some IEDs and had unsuccessfully tried to plant them at various locations in the state. The NIA had seized a notebook from their Haji Colony (Lucknow) hideout with details over potential targets and the science of bomb-making. Investigations had also led to the discovery of several photographs of the accused making IEDs and even with weapons, ammunition along with ISIS flag.

    In fact, the convicts were also involved in explosion on Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train on March 7, 2017, which left 10 people injured. The case in the train blast case was still on.

    LUCKNOW: A special NIA court in Lucknow Tuesday awarded death sentence to seven suspected Islamic State (ISIS) operatives and life term to one in connection with the Kanpur terror conspiracy case.

    The self-radicalized convicts awarded death sentences, included Mohammad Faisal, Gaus Mohammad Khan, Mohammad Azhar, Atiq Muzaffer, Mohammad Danish, Mohammad Sayyed Meer Hussain, and Asif Iqbal. One Mohammad Atif alias Asif Irani was awarded life imprisonment.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    All eight convicts were arrested in Kanpur in 2017 in connection with planning terror acts. Delivering the sentence, Special NIA court judge VS Tripathi observed that the case fell in the rarest of rare category and the convicts were entitled to the severest punishment.

    The FIR in the case was registered at ATS police station in Lucknow on March 8, 2017. In fact, ATS had got information about the plan of the members of the banned terror outfit ISIS to carry out blasts at different places across the country. Kanpur ATS first arrested Mohammad Faisal and later his disclosures led the ATS sleuths to nab the others.

    As per the public prosecutor, the accused had conducted a test blast at Ganga Ghat in Unnao. The probe also claimed that the accused had the plan to blast Kanpur-Unnao railway track and a bomb was planted there also. They had also planted bombs at different places during the Dussehra celebrations.

    ATS had filed the charge sheet in the case on August 31, 2017 and had included one Saifulla also. Saifullah was later killed in an encounter in the Dubagga area of the state capital on March 7, 2017.

    According to public prosecutor KK Sharma,  all seven convicts who were given death sentence were convicted under Section 121 (waging war against the country) of IPC along with charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

    While Mohammed Atif Irani, who has been given life sentence, was convicted under section 121 (A) (conspiracy) of IPC along with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

    The NIA investigations revealed that the accused had prepared and tested some IEDs and had unsuccessfully tried to plant them at various locations in the state. The NIA had seized a notebook from their Haji Colony (Lucknow) hideout with details over potential targets and the science of bomb-making. Investigations had also led to the discovery of several photographs of the accused making IEDs and even with weapons, ammunition along with ISIS flag.

    In fact, the convicts were also involved in explosion on Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train on March 7, 2017, which left 10 people injured. The case in the train blast case was still on.

  • Ruby Rose joins Afghanistan war thriller ‘Dirty Angels’

    By Express News Service

    Ruby Rose has joined the cast of Dirty Angels, a thriller set during the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. She will star alongside Eva Green. The film will follow a group of female soldiers who disguise themselves as medics during the messy 2021 withdrawal to rescue a group of kidnapped teenagers caught between ISIS and the forces of the Taliban.

    Although it is set during the real-life events of the US’ departure from the war-torn country, the story is completely fictional. Veteran action director Martin Campbell will direct.

    Model-turned-actor Rose gained global attention with a guest role on the third season of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. She has also worked in XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, The Meg, and John Wick: Chapter Two. She was also the lead on the CW superhero series Batwoman, but left after its first season. She recently starred in the Esports drama 1UP, and can next be seen in the Machine Gun Kelly-led drama Taurus.

    Dirty Angels’ script is being written by Alissa Silverman. Producing are Signature Pictures’ Moshe Diamant and Millennium Media’s Rob Van Norden and Yariv Lerner.  Filming on Dirty Angels is scheduled to commence this December in Morocco and Millennium Media’s studios in Greece.

    Ruby Rose has joined the cast of Dirty Angels, a thriller set during the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. She will star alongside Eva Green. The film will follow a group of female soldiers who disguise themselves as medics during the messy 2021 withdrawal to rescue a group of kidnapped teenagers caught between ISIS and the forces of the Taliban.

    Although it is set during the real-life events of the US’ departure from the war-torn country, the story is completely fictional. Veteran action director Martin Campbell will direct.

    Model-turned-actor Rose gained global attention with a guest role on the third season of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. She has also worked in XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, The Meg, and John Wick: Chapter Two. She was also the lead on the CW superhero series Batwoman, but left after its first season. She recently starred in the Esports drama 1UP, and can next be seen in the Machine Gun Kelly-led drama Taurus.

    Dirty Angels’ script is being written by Alissa Silverman. Producing are Signature Pictures’ Moshe Diamant and Millennium Media’s Rob Van Norden and Yariv Lerner.  Filming on Dirty Angels is scheduled to commence this December in Morocco and Millennium Media’s studios in Greece.

  • ISIS member involved in funds collection arrested from Delhi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested an active ISIS member from here, an official said on Sunday, claiming the “radicalised” individual was collecting funds for the global terror group.

    Mohsin Ahmad, originally hailing from Patna in Bihar, was arrested from his Batla House residence by a search party on Saturday, a spokesperson of the federal anti-terror agency said.

    The spokesperson said the NIA conducted a search in the residential premises of the accused and subsequently arrested him in the case pertaining to ISIS’ online and on-ground activities.

    The NIA had registered the case suo-moto on June 25.

    “Ahmad is a radicalised and active member of ISIS. He has been arrested for his involvement in collection of funds for ISIS from sympathisers in India as well as abroad,” the spokesperson said, adding he was sending these funds to Syria and other places in the form of cryptocurrency in order to further ISIS’ activities.

    Further investigations in the case are in progress, the NIA said.

    On July 31, the anti-terror agency had carried out searches at 13 premises of suspected persons across six states — Bhopal and Raisen in Madhya Pradesh, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Arariya in Bihar, Bhatkal and Tumkur City in Karnataka, Kolhapur and Nanded in Maharashtra and Deoband in Uttar Pradesh.

    NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested an active ISIS member from here, an official said on Sunday, claiming the “radicalised” individual was collecting funds for the global terror group.

    Mohsin Ahmad, originally hailing from Patna in Bihar, was arrested from his Batla House residence by a search party on Saturday, a spokesperson of the federal anti-terror agency said.

    The spokesperson said the NIA conducted a search in the residential premises of the accused and subsequently arrested him in the case pertaining to ISIS’ online and on-ground activities.

    The NIA had registered the case suo-moto on June 25.

    “Ahmad is a radicalised and active member of ISIS. He has been arrested for his involvement in collection of funds for ISIS from sympathisers in India as well as abroad,” the spokesperson said, adding he was sending these funds to Syria and other places in the form of cryptocurrency in order to further ISIS’ activities.

    Further investigations in the case are in progress, the NIA said.

    On July 31, the anti-terror agency had carried out searches at 13 premises of suspected persons across six states — Bhopal and Raisen in Madhya Pradesh, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Arariya in Bihar, Bhatkal and Tumkur City in Karnataka, Kolhapur and Nanded in Maharashtra and Deoband in Uttar Pradesh.

  • Amravati pharmacist might be killed by gang ‘self inspired’ from ISIS: Officials

    Umesh Kolhe was killed on June 21 by two motorcycle-borne men by slitting his throat, allegedly for supporting now sacked BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

  • Udaipur murder: Home Ministry directs NIA to probe international links in tailor’s beheading

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Treating the Udaipur murder as a terror incident, the Centre on Wednesday directed the anti-terror agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), to extensively probe the “brutal” murder of a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district, especially whether any organisation or international links were behind the sensational killing.

    The Home Ministry’s official Twitter handle said “MHA has directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the investigation of the brutal murder of Shri Kanhaiya Lal Teli committed at Udaipur, Rajasthan yesterday.

    “The involvement of any organisation and international links will be thoroughly investigated.”

    MHA has directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the investigation of the brutal murder of Shri Kanhaiya Lal Teli committed at Udaipur, Rajasthan yesterday.The involvement of any organisation and international links will be thoroughly investigated.
    — गृहमंत्री कार्यालय, HMO India (@HMOIndia) June 29, 2022
    The Home ministry had rushed a probe team on Tuesday night after a preliminary probe suggested that the two accused, arrested by the Rajasthan police, were influenced by the ISIS, a banned terror group.

    The town of Udaipur witnessed a shocking incident on Tuesday, when Riaz Akhtari, one of the accused, slit Teli’s throat with a cleaver, as Ghouse Mohammad, the other accused, recorded the act on a mobile phone.

    In the video clip that circulated on social media, one of the purported assailants declared that they had “beheaded” the man and went on to threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying their knife will get him as well.

    The accused brandished blood-stained cleavers as they issued the threats. Both of them were arrested and taken to an undisclosed location for a thorough interrogation.

    “Prima-facie, it seems to be a terror case and needs a thorough investigation which includes sifting through their social media profiles,” a senior official had said on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.

    Akhtari’s links have been traced to Pakistan-based Dawat-e-Islami, which has its branches in India as well.

    Some of the cadres of the Pakistan-based Dawat-e-Islami have been found to be involved in terror incidents, including the assassination of Pakistan’s Punjab province Governor Salman Taseer in 2011.

    Beheading has been seen to be a common mode of execution in banned terror groups, especially ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

    The gruesome trend saw its beginning in 2014 when several foreigners were killed in a similar fashion by ISIS, which even uploaded the videos of the act on social media.

    During the three-decade-long terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, a beheading case was witnessed in 1995, when a terrorist, belonging to Al-Faran, an assumed name of the banned Harkat-ul-Ansar terror group, severed the head of foreign tourist Hansa Ostro. His body was found near Pahalgam on August 13, 1995.

  • NIA court awards ISIS terrorist 7-year jail term for radicalising youth in Maharashtra

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A special NIA court here has sentenced an ISIS terrorist to seven years imprisonment for a conspiracy hatched in Syria for radicalising Indian youth through internet wherein they were instructed to fabricate an IED locally.

    Mohammed Shahed Khan, a resident of Parbhani in Maharashtra, was handed down a seven years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 45,000 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Indian Penal Code Act and the Explosive Substance Act, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesperson said.

    The case pertains to the conspiracy hatched by ISIS operatives in Syria for radicalising Indian youth through internet wherein an IED was fabricated locally on their directions, he said.

    The case was initially registered in July 2016 and reregistered by the NIA in September 2016.

    A chargesheet was filed in October, 2016, the spokesperson said.

    An accused, Naser Bin Yafai (Chaus), has already been convicted for seven years rigorous imprisonment by the NIA Special Court, Mumbai on May 6, 2022, in this case, he said, adding further trial in the matter continues.

  • NIA files chargesheet against three ISIS recruiters

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: The NIA on Saturday filed a supplementary chargesheet before a special court here against three people for their alleged involvement in radicalising and recruiting gullible Muslim youth into the ISIS terrorist group.

    They also raised and received funds to finance the visit of the radicalised youths to Syria, a spokesperson of the National Investigation Agency said.

    Muhammad Tauqir Mahmood and Zohaib Manna of Bengaluru, and Mohammed Shihab of Bhatkal in Karnataka have been charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the spokesperson said.

    The case was registered by the NIA in September 2020 after examination of Dr Abdur Rahman in a case of the Islamic State Khorasan Province which led to unravelling of an ISIS module, the official said.

    During this, names of various people responsible for radicalising and funding the visits of Muslim youth from Bengaluru and Karnataka to ISIS areas such as Syria, had emerged, the spokesperson said.

    The NIA had earlier filed a chargesheet against two accused in the case.

    Mahmood and Manna were involved in radicalising and recruiting gullible Muslim youth into the fold of the ISIS through a “Quran Circle” group, according to the spokesperson.

    They were also involved in raising and receiving funds to finance the visit of radicalised Muslim youth to Syria, the NIA official said.

    Mahmood and Shihab had earlier visited Syria illegally to establish connection with ISIS terrorists, the spokesperson said, adding that further investigation in the case continues.

  • Apologise to the Hindus, Akhada Parishad tells Salman Khurshid

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN:  The head of a prominent Akhada council, said to be the apex body of all 13 akhada sects, has asked Congress leader Salman Khurshid to apologise to the Hindu community for comparing Hindutva to the Islamic terror groups ISIS and Boko Haram.

    Mahant Ravindra Puri, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP), said he would consider further steps after reading Khurshid’s book Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times.

    “Salman Khurshid should apologise to the Hindus for the absurd and objectionable comparison. Seers and saints will not let any such acts create a schism in Indian society. Ours is a society of ‘Sanatan’ culture, which is for spreading peace and prosperity across the world,” said Mahant Puri.

    Meanwhile, a forensic team of the state police on Tuesday visited Khurshid’s house that was vandalised and recovered seven empty cartridges of 32 bore bullets, one live . 32 bore bullet, blood samples on the glass window, ashes of inflammable substance and various other items.

    The team also spotted broken glasses of seven windows and one burnt door. The police have already given round-the-clock protection to the property.

    The Congress organised statewide protests against the alleged acts of vandalism. Party activists burnt effigies of the ruling BJP.

    On Monday, a mob carrying BJP flags chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans and called Khurshid a Pakistani stooge.

    They allegedly vandalised his residence in Satkhali Tiura village in Shitla area of Mukteshwar in Nainital district of Uttarakhand. More than 20 people have been booked in the incident, said the senior police officials.