ISIS | Business Upturn

ISIS India leaders arrested near Bangladesh border, NIA handover planned

Aditya Bhagchandani — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 18:02:17 +0000

Significant progress was made today when two top-rung leaders of ISIS in India were arrested near the international border by Assam Police on Wednesday.

They were planning sabotage activities in the country. The two individuals, whose identities were revealed as Harish Ajmal Farooqi, alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, and Anurag Singh, alias Rehan from Panipat, Haryana, were apprehended upon crossing over from Bangladesh.

While Police received information, a special task force team has been deployed earlier in the Dhubri sector to catch the suspects, who were also wanted by the NIA.

On Tuesday, the STF launched a search at around the international border, and at around 4.30 am on Wednesday, they intercepted the two at Dharmasala in Dhubri after crossing the international border illegally.

Chief Public Relations Officer of Assam Police Pranabjyoti Goswami said, “Both of them were apprehended and brought to the STF office at Guwahati.” Anurag Singh is a convert to Islam, and his wife is a Bangladeshi National.

According to officials, they are highly radicalized and inspired leaders or members of ISIS in India, active in various activities such as recruiting, financing terrorism, and plotting terror acts with IEDs .

“They conspired to further the cause of ISIS in India by means of recruiting, financing terrorism, and plots to carry out terror acts with IED at several places in India” said Goswami.

Several cases were registered against the two at the NIA, New Delhi, and the ATS Lucknow. The STF Assam has announced an intent to hand over the suspects to NIA for further legal procedures.

Over 500 IS terrorists surrender in Syria’s Al-Hasakah

United News of India (UNI) — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:05:34 +0000

Up to 550 terrorists affiliated to the Islamic State (IS, a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia) surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the Al-Sina’a prison break in the Syrian city of Al-Hasakah, the SDF reported on Tuesday. “The number of surrendered terrorist mutineers in al-Sina’a prison has risen to 550 terrorists, following another 250 terrorist mutineers were forced to surrender themselves this morning when our forces conducted thorough and precise raids on a building where the terrorist mutineers were barricaded,” the statement said.

The SDF reported on Monday that 300 IS fighters were captured after several incursions conducted by its militants into buildings where the terrorists were entrenched. Furthermore, the SDF carried out security and military operations aimed at liberating the prison staff captured by the IS rebels. By Tuesday, 23 personnel have been rescued, according to the SDF.

On January 20, IS fighters attacked Al-Sina’a prison in Al-Hasakah used by the SDF for the confinement of captured terrorists. The assault spurred deadly clashes between the SDF and IS militants, many terrorists managed to escape while others barricaded at the prison sites while holding prison hostages. Over 10,000 soldiers have been mobilized to fight militants, assisted by military equipment of the US-led international coalition. Ongoing clashes have already forced more than 3,000 people to flee their homes in Al-Hasakah.

On Tuesday, the UN human rights watchdog expressed concerns over the safety of the civilians residing in the city. According to the SDF, preliminary data shows that 27 SDF soldiers and 175 terrorists have been killed in the hostilities.

White House says President Joe Biden briefed on evolving situation in Kabul

Vandana Nampoothiri — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 06:53:26 +0000

The White House on Saturday said that President Joe Biden has been updated about the ongoing evacuation process in Afghanistan.

Biden met with his national security team at The White House to discuss the security situation and counterterrorism operations, including against the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, Associated Press reported.

The meeting was attended by Vice President Kamala Harris via video conference, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and National Intelligence Director Avril Haines.

During the meeting, members also discussed the Islamic State presence in Afghanistan. As reported by Associated Press, fragments of the group are still active in Afghanistan, and the U.S. is concerned about it reconstituting more largely as the country comes under divisive Taliban rule.

On Saturday, during a telephonic conversation, Speaker Pelosi updated Biden about increasing progress made evacuating American citizens, allies and Afghans who aided the American military, and additional vulnerable Afghans.

On Thursday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC Nightly News that the US government is “laser focussed” on potential attacks by the Taliban’s sworn enemy, ISIS.

“One of the contingencies we are very focused on, laser-focused on, is the potential for a terrorist attack by a group like ISIS-K, which of course is a sworn enemy of the Taliban, so we will keep working to minimize the risks and maximize the number of people on planes,” Sullivan told NBC.

NIA arrests 3 ‘ISIS cadres’ for radicalizing youth through ISIS propaganda

Bhomik Mathur — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 16:30:39 +0000

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday, June 11, arrested 3 persons accused of disseminating the propaganda of the proscribed global terror organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The arrests of the ‘ISIS cadres’ were made in a case related to the ‘Voice of Hind’ magazine from the Anantnag district of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Through a press release, the investigation of agency NIA informed that “ISIS terrorists operating from various conflict zones along with ISIS cadres in India, by assuming pseudo- online identities, have created a network wherein ISIS-related propaganda material is disseminated for radicalizing and recruiting members to the fold of ISIS.”

NIA arrests three ISIS cadres in ISIS Voice of Hind( VOH) Case pic.twitter.com/O1A2t1LLwo

— NIA India (@NIA_India) July 12, 2021

An India-focused ISIS propaganda magazine the ‘Voice of Hind’ is published monthly to radicalize and incite young and impressionable people. The three accused persons arrested are-

Umar Nisar
Tanveer Ahmad Bhat
Rameez Ahmed Lone

Earlier on 29 June, the NIA had registered a case in this connection under Sections 124A, 153A, and 153B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 17, 18, 18B, 38, 39, and 40 of the UA(P) Act of 1967. Previous searches at the premises of the arrested persons had led to the recovery of documents, several digital devices, and T-shirts having the logo of ISIS. The NIA has concluded on the basis of preliminary investigations that the arrested persons are ISIS cadres and have been using the Voice of Hind magazine to propagate inciteful material.

Additional searches were also conducted in Anantnag on Monday leading to the seizure of some digital devices and other materials.

US to cut troops presence in Iraq in the coming months

News Desk — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 08:57:44 +0000

The United States is planning to reduce its troops presence in Iraq by about a third in the coming months.

The US has over 5,000 troops that were deployed in Iraq to fight the Islamic State militant group.

The reduction in forces had been expected, with officials in the US-led coalition highlighting the Iraqi forces’ growing capabilities to carry out independent operations against the remnants of Islamic State on their own.

The US and Iraq started talks earlier this year about the future of the U.S. troops in Iraq.