The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday busted a terror module of the Islamic terror outfit ISIS in Kerala, which was planning terror attacks on “Places of worship and leaders of certain communities”. The searches were conducted at four locations, while one Ashif was arrested from Tamil Nadu.
“Based on credible inputs and investigations, an intelligence-led joint operation with the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Kerala Police, and searched four locations following the arrest of one accused. The raids were conducted at three locations in Thrissur and one in Palakkad districts of Kerala to bust the ISIS module, which had been conducting reconnaissance missions and conspiring to commit terrorist attacks,” the NIA said in a statement.
“On Tuesday, the NIA successfully tracked and arrested an accused, Ashif alias Mathil Akath Kodayil Ashraf’, from his hideout near Sathyamangalam, Tamil Nadu. ”The next day (19).07.2023), searches were conducted in the houses of Ashif, as well as three others, identified as Seyid Nabeel Ahammed, Shiyas TS of Thrissur, and Rayees of Palakkad. Digital devices and incriminating documents were seized during these raids,” it further said.
The NIA said the module had been engaged in raising funds for promoting ISIS activities and carrying out terror attacks by committing dacoities and other criminal activities.
”They were conspiring to commit terrorist activities and had already conducted a recce of a few prominent places, including places of worship and leaders of certain communities in the State (Kerala). It aimed to spread terror and trigger a communal divide in the state,” the NIA added.
