Four suspected the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorists, who are believed to be Sri Lankan nationals have been arrested at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, said Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad officers.
According to sources, Gujarat ATS officials are interrogating the four suspected terrorists.
The arrested individuals — all Sri Lankan nationals — are reportedly affiliated with the Islamic State (IS), officials said.
“For several days, the Gujarat ATS was closely monitoring the activities at the Ahmedabad airport. Four police teams were strategically positioned to monitor and apprehend the suspects. The terrorists were nabbed on Sunday night. Their intensive interrogation is presently underway,” IANS reported citing its sources.
Gujarat ATS Achieves Major Success: 4 ISIS terrorists arrested at Ahmedabad Airport. All four are Sri Lankan nationals with ties to the Islamic State. Gujarat ATS is currently interrogating them, more details awaited pic.twitter.com/xEH8Hz27K1— IANS (@ians_india) May 20, 2024
The arrests were made ahead of the arrival of three IPL teams at the Ahmedabad airport for the qualifier and eliminator games. The security has been heightened across the airport.
According to Hindustan Times, the terrorists reportedly reached Ahmedabad via Chennai from Sri Lanka. They were in touch with Pakistani handlers, reports suggest.
The terrorists were identified as Mohammad Nusrat, Mohammad Nufran, Mohammad Faris and Mohammad Razdin. “These 4 people are Sri Lankan nationals and are active members of the banned terror outfit Islamic State. All four of them are completely radicalised by the ISIS ideology and they are going to come to India to commit a terror attack,” Gujarat DGP, Vikash Sahay, said during a press conference.
“As per the information, they were going to reach Ahmedabad on May 18 or 19 either by railway or flight. Teams were formed and strategy was created based on the information received. Passenger lists of trains and flights coming from the south were analysed. All four of them were travelling from Chennai to Ahmedabad on the same PNR number through an Indigo flight. Verification was done in Colombo too for confirmation,” Sahay added.
Earlier in March, two top leaders of ISIS in India were arrested near the international border after they crossed over from Bangladesh. Both the suspects 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).
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