ISIS module busted, 2 held for plotting suicide attacks

Police said the probe began after surveillance flagged a network disseminating jihadi material and recruiting followers through social media.

Delhi Police on Friday said it has busted an alleged terror module affiliated to ISIS by arresting two men who were allegedly planning “suicide attacks” in the national capital during festive season. The two suspects – 19-year-old Md Adnan and 20-year-old Adnan Khan – were detained from Sadiq Nagar in south Delhi and from Bhopal respectively, police said on Friday.

The two suspects are 19-year-old Md Adnan and 20-year-old Adnan Khan.

The arrests disrupted a cell that police said was carrying out online radicalisation, recruitment and preparations for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) aimed at crowded public places, said additional commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah.

“Their plans to attack crowded areas during the festival season were averted,” Kushwah said. He added that one of the accused, Md Adnan, admitted taking a pledge of allegiance to ISIS chief Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, and that officers recovered a video showing him in “ISIS attire.”

Investigators said they found that the operatives were active across platforms: selecting, editing and reposting radical videos in short-form formats to draw in vulnerable youth. Many of the channels were repeatedly taken down, the police said, but the operatives kept creating new accounts.

Kushwah said the Bhopal suspect, identified as Adnan Khan, had earlier been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after he posted a social media post threatening a judge who had ordered a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi. He secured bail in 2024. “He resumed terror activities once out,” Kushwah said, adding that Khan specialised in online recruitment and propaganda. “Our surveillance established that the module had begun procuring materials for IEDs,” Kushwah said.

Raids conducted on October 16 in Sadiq Nagar led to Md Adnan’s arrest near his home, while Khan was detained from his Karond residence in Bhopal two days later with assistance from the local anti-terror squad.

DCP Amit Kaushik, who led the Delhi operation, said Adnan made “significant disclosures” during questioning, including contact with an individual in Syria.

“The Bhopal-based suspect regularly sent radical jihadi videos and instructed Md Adnan to disseminate them. Both suspects allegedly communicated with a Syria-based ISIS handler identified as Abu Ibrahim al-Qureshi,” said Kushwah.

Police said Md Adnan also admitted to recording a video of himself taking a pledge for ISIS and sending it to his foreign handler.

Investigators said they recovered a cache of digital and explosive-related material from the duo: three mobile phones containing “incriminating ISIS material”; images and manuals on remote detonation systems; instructions on making “plastic bombs” and Molotov cocktails; a pen drive and hard disks; an ISIS flag and clothing used during the pledge; and a timer clock that police say was intended for use in an IED. A senior officer said the module had begun procuring materials for devices intended for crowded locations.

Hailing from Eta in Uttar Pradesh, Md Adnan, police said, left formal schooling after Class 10. His family moved to Delhi in 2022; he later completed a diploma in data information technology in 2025 and joined a social media group of about 25-30 members, where police allege he met Khan.

Khan’s father, police said, is an accountant and his mother a part-time actor; Khan is reportedly preparing for CA exams and began following jihadi content after Class 12.

Kuswah added “Khan also admitted to contacts with the Syrian handler. They were initially assigned propaganda duties such as selecting, editing, and posting radical videos in reels format to radicalise and recruit vulnerable youth. Under instructions from their foreign handler, one selected the videos while other edited them by adding provocative music/voiceovers.”

Police said the duo recently began procuring materials to construct IEDs intended for use in crowded locations in Delhi during the festive season.