Three Hyderabad based youth suspected to have links with ISIS, arrested from Nagpur airport

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Telangana police arrested on Saturday three people from Nagpur airport on suspicion that they were trying to leave the country to join terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS). Maharashtra officials handed them over to the Telangana ATS after the joint operation yielded success. Residents of Hyderabad, all three youth are aged between 20 and 25 years. The youth were reportedly planning to board a flight to Srinagar from Nagpur after arriving from Hyderabad on Friday, a senior ATS official said. “We got information that the youth would be boarding the early morning flight,” the official said. “The youth, who came to Nagpur by cab, were handed over to the Telangana Counter-Intelligence cell.” So far, around 20 young men, mostly from Telangana, have been prevented from travelling to Syria, ostensibly to join IS. Indian security establishment suggests that around 20-odd Indians are currently fighting for the banned outfit in Iraq and Syria. They include two youths from Kalyan on the outskirts of Mumbai, an Australia-based Kashmiri, one youth from Telangana, one from Karnataka, one Oman-based Indian and another Singapore-based Indian. Last year, a youth from Kalyan had returned home after spending about six-months with IS. He was arrested upon arrival in Mumbai. Among the six Indians, who fought alongside IS and got killed were three Indian Mujahideen terrorists, including Sultan Ajmer Shah and Bada Sajid, who had joined its ranks after being in Pakistan, two from Maharashtra and one from Telangana. On September 15, the UAE deported four Indians suspected to have links with IS. The UAE had also sent back in September a 37-year-old woman, Afsha Jabeen alias Nicky Joseph, who was allegedly involved in recruiting youths for IS. In January, Salman Mohiuddin of Hyderabad was arrested at Hyderabad airport when he was preparing to board a flight to Dubai on way to Syria via Turkey. Last week, a 16-year-old college girl, who was allegedly in touch with arrested Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) executive Mohammed Sirajuddin, was put under surveillance for her suspected links with the IS in Pune.