New Delhi: Three Indians said to be sympathisers of militant group ISIS have been deported to Delhi from the United Arab Emirates after they were accused of plotting a mission to carry out terror attack in India and some other countries.
The three individuals have been identified as Adnan Hussain, Mohammad Farhan, Sheikh Azhar Al Islam. They were detained by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) upon their arrival at the IGI airport last night, official sources said.
The three men belong to Maharashtra, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir.
The trio, along with their other unknown associates, were allegedly involved in a conspiracy to identify, motivate, radicalise, recruit and train Indian citizens in India and other countries for planning and executing terrorist attacks in India and in other friendly countries, the sources said.
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The youths are believed to be members of the Abu Dhabi module of the ISIS. The NIA, after registering a case, is questioning the suspects and a formal arrest is expected soon.
Notably, this is not the first instance of UAE deporting Indians on charges of ISIS activities. On September 15, 2015, the UAE had deported four Indians suspected to have links with ISIS. The UAE had also sent back last year a 37-year-old woman Afsha Jabeen alias Nicky Joseph who was allegedly involving in recruiting youths for ISIS.
In January 2015, Salman Mohiuddin of Hyderabad was arrested when he was preparing to board a flight to Dubai on way to Syria via Turkey.
According to Indian intelligence agencies, a total of 23 Indians have so far joined the ISIS, of whom six were reportedly killed in different incidents in Iraq-Syria.
Among the 23 are two absconding members of the banned Indian Mujahideen who had gone from their hideouts in Pakistan.
The dead were identified as Athif Vaseem Mohammad (Adilabad, Telangana), Mohammad Umar Subhan (Bengaluru), Maulana Abdul Kadir Sultan Armar (Bhatkal, Karnataka), Saheem Farooque Tanki (Thane), Faiz Masood (Bengaluru) and Mohammad Sajid alias Bada Sajid (Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh).
Around 150 Indians are under surveillance for their alleged online links with ISIS. As many as 30 other Indians, who were radicalised by ISIS elements, were prevented from travelling to the conflict zone in the Middle-East.
Among those who are currently fighting for ISIS include two youths from Kalyan in the outskirts of Mumbai, an Australia-based Kashmiri, one youth from Telangana, one from Karnataka, one Oman-based Indian and another Singapore-based Indian.
(With PTI inputs)
