8.3.17

First IS attack in India

In the first-ever strike in India by the Islamic State, a module radicalised by the terrorist organisation triggered a low-intensity blast on a train in Madhya Pradesh, injuring 10 passengers.
The morning blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train near Jabri railway station spurred Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh police to launch coordinated operations in the two states.

Sources in central intelligence agencies and MP and UP police confirmed that the jihadi group owes allegiance to the IS, but were not clear whether the directive to carry out the attack had come from an “online handler“ of the international terrorist network currently engaged in a grim battle of survival in Iraq and Syria. The IS is known for its federated way of functioning where it encourages jihadis loyal to it to select their targets and hit them. So far, intelligence agencies have been able to nip terror plots by IS-inspired jihadis before they could be executed. Sources said all the accused have UP links, and that on Tuesday morning, one arrest led to another, before UP ATS caught up with the gang leader Saifullah.

A top intelligence official said that the blast in the train was a “trial run“ by the module, which was planning major attacks and had made enough preparations for the same. Intelligence agencies who had been trying to locate module members who radicalised themselves by accessing online IS's jihadi propaganda.

This is for the first time that an attack has been carried out by IS in India, using the recruits radicalized from within the country. Previously , IS had tried to carry out many attacks in Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, through various modules but all such attempts were foiled. In last one year, NIA and police of various states have arrested about 60 Indian-origin IS recruits before they could carry out attacks. These men were part of at least 6-7 modules, which couldn't carry attacks. The NIA, government sources said, will be brought into Ujjain investigation.

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