Kashmiri terrorist who disappeared 25 yrs ago caught with Kabul Gurudwara attacker in a surprise catch

The NDS did not identify Ahangar at first, as it was focussed on Aslam Farooqi, who had taken responsibility of Kabul Gurudwara attack, which had killed  25 people, the report said.

Ahangar managed to hide his identity in the early rounds of questioning. The investigators did not suspect when he identified himself as one Ali Mohammed from Islamabad, it said.

In the mid-nineties, Ahangar was jailed for terror links, but was later released. He then disappeared from Kashmir. This was some twenty-five years ago, it added.

The HT report said the counter-terror officials both in India and Afghanistan were surprised at the discovery. The interrogators were able to unmask his true identity during the course of investigation but the series of events that led to the revelation was not known, added the report.

Ahangar went to Pakistan via Bangladesh, avoiding the more risky LoC, indicating his connection with Pakistani extremists, a counter-terror official said,  stated the report.

He was settled in Islambad by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence and later joined Al Qaeda briefly. Finally, he joined Islamic State Khorasan Province.