Gujarat ATS arrests four with ISIS links from Porbandar

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Saturday is said to have busted an ISIS module and arrested four persons including a woman from Porbandar who were allegedly planning to leave India through the coastal route.

ATS said that the four persons had planned to go to Afghanistan via Iran to join Islamic State affiliate Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), where the terrorist outfit is reported to be resurging.

"They were to then partake in attacks on behalf of the ISKP in its terror campaign in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and attain Martyrdom whereupon their prerecorded statements, images, videos and documents would be used by the handler and ISKP to declare their successful attainment of martyrdom," the ATS said in a statement.

Those arrested have been identified as Ubed Nasir Mir, Hanan Hayat Shaul, Mohammed Hazim Shah, all residents of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and Sumaira Banu Malek, a resident of Surat. ATS said that all accused are in their mid 20s. ATS said that they were radicalized by their handler identified as Abu Hamza to join ISKP.

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Based on information, when ATS raided the house of Sumaira in Surat, they recovered a copy of Voice of Khorasan magazine among other literature from her possession. She told the cops that she was in touch with the handler and was closely associated with another Kashmiri resident Zubair Munshi, who is a wanted accused in this case.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, ATS, Deepan Bhadran told DH that the accused have been booked under section 38 and 39 of Unlawful Activities (prevention) act which deal with joining and supporting a banned organisation, among other charges.

ATS said that from the possession of the three Kashmiri youths, the police seized several documents, mobile phones, tablets and sharp weapons like knives. In a statement, the ATS said that from cloud storage accounts of the suspects, their photographs and videos were found.

The ATS is said to have recovered video footage showing four Kashmiri youths giving Bay'ah (oath of allegiance) to Amirul Momineen (Commander of the Faithful), audio clips of Bay'ah audio clips and files mentioning their plans to migrate to Khorasan.

Their questioning revealed that they were instructed by their handler, Abu Hamza, to reach Porbandar from where they were to take up jobs in fishing boats as labourers. Their plan, according to ATS, was to use one the fishing boats or dhow to reach "pre-determined GPS coordinates which had been given to them.

"They had planned to forge papers in Iran like passports and reach Khorasan. They were then to participate in its terrorist activities on behalf of the ISKP in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and achieve martyrdom, after which their pre-recorded statements, photographs, videos and documents were to be used by Handler and the ISKP to publicize their martyrdom," the ATS said in a statement.