Suspected IS operative had planned ‘lone wolf’ terror strike in a high footfall area: Police

Police did not specify the “high-footfall area” that the man was to target, but said he hailed from a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur, and was set to carry out the IED blasts.

The Delhi Police on Saturday said they have arrested a 36-year-old suspected operative of the Islamic State. Police said the man had planned a “lone wolf” terror strike in a high footfall area in the city “using a high-intensity pressure cooker-based improvised explosive device (IED)”.

Five ISIS suspects in Delhi police Special Cell's custody in New Delhion Saturday, August 22, 2020. (HT PHOTO)

Police did not specify the “high-footfall area” that the man was to target, but said he hailed from a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur, and was set to carry out the IED blasts.

Police said they received information that the alleged operative, Mohammed Mushtaqeem Khan, would pass by Dhaula Kuan area on Friday. Officers of the special cell said around 11pm, the man was intercepted and caught after a shoot-out in the Ridge area between Dhaula Kuan and Karol Bagh. Police said they recovered two pressure cooker IEDs weighing around 15kg, a.30 bore pistol and four cartridges that Khan was carrying in a bag. Khan was on a white TVS Apache motorcycle at the time of his arrest.

On Saturday morning, around a dozen National Security Guard (NSG) officers, including those from its bomb disposal squad, carried out a “controlled blast” to dispose of the IEDs, for which they created a pit inside the Buddha Jayanti Park and cordoned off the entire area as a safety and precautionary measure.

The team used a remote-controlled vehicle to lift and contain the IEDs. The operation last nearly three hours. The IEDs were ready for use and only installation of timers were needed for carrying out explosions, Kushwah said.

In a press statement, police said Khan’s interrogation has revealed that his original plan was to carry out the IED blasts during the Independence Day celebrations on August 15.

“However, because of the heavy security arrangements, Khan could not enter the city and had to drop the terror strike plan, Kushwah said.

During a press briefing, the DCP said Khan had planned the blasts on the directions of his handler, a commander of the ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) in Afghanistan, which is a banned terrorist organisation and is a part of IS. The officer did not disclose the handler’s name, saying it would hamper their probe.

Khan was in touch with the commander through social media, they said. “Khan told us that he was more inclined to “fidayeen (suicide) attack”. But his handler had told him that after successfully executing the IEDs blasts, he would be getting fresh instructions to carry out a fidayeen attack. He claims that he has already prepared “an explosive belt” for the fidayeen attack. We are verifying his claims and trying to recover it,” Kushwah said, adding that the ownership of the motorcycle with UP registration that Khan was riding is being verified

Khan has told the police that he learnt to make “IEDs and suicide belt” through videos on social media. “He has told us that he carried out a successful dry run of a small IED blast at a burial ground in his village. Also, he prepared the two pressure cooker IEDs himself. We are verifying his claims,” the DCP said.

On Saturday, Khan was sent to eight-day police custody by a Delhi court.

A Class 9 drop-out, Khan runs a cosmetic shop at his village in Balrampur, where his wife and four children also live.

Uttar Pradesh police has sounded a statewide alert on Saturday after Khan’s arrest , Prashant Kumar, additional director general (ADG) of police (law and order), said. Kumar said all district police chiefs have been asked to intensify vigil and carry out extensive drives to check the movement of suspicious people.