Islamic State terror strike on Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, other critical locations foiled
New Delhi: Police have thwarted terrorist plots targeting Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Nariman House, Gateway of India in Mumbai, and unspecified high-profile military bases, NDTV reported.
The foiled attacks, which could have been some of the largest in India, were reportedly planned by the Islamic State, the report said.
This came to light during the interrogation of Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama, an Islamic State operative arrested by Delhi Police last month, the report said.
The information also indicates the involvement of students from Aligarh Muslim University.
Sources indicate that Pune has become the central point of the Islamic State's plans. Shahnawaz, a suspect in the Islamic State Pune module case, had been wanted by authorities, according to the report.
As per reports, he left the city in July following the arrest of two associates, arrived in Delhi, and has remained in hiding since then.
According to sources, Shahnawaz, who was looking to improve his financial situation, became involved in illegal activities during his youth in his hometown Hazaribagh, Jharkhand.
He was radicalised and underwent training under Anwar al-Awlaki, a senior Al Qaeda operative who was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011.
During his confession, Shahnawaz told the interrogators that his wife was a Hindu before converting to Islam. The couple met at Aligarh University, where they became involved in terrorist activities.
Shahnawaz confessed that he became a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist organisation that aims at re-establishing the Islamic Caliphate to unite all Muslims.
In August, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out operations in Bhopal related to Hizb ut-Tahrir.
This followed earlier raids in May, conducted in Telangana and Madhya Pradesh, which led to 16 arrests and the busting of several terrorist modules.
Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) is banned in many countries, including Bangladesh, Indonesia, China, and Germany.
Shahnawaz also revealed to authorities about hawala routes through which funds are transmitted to modules in Pune for bomb-making and terrorist training purposes, the report added.
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