4 Sri Lankan Suspected ISIS Terrorists Arrested At Ahmedabad Airport

Four suspected ISIS terrorists, all Sri Lankan nationals, have been arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.

The suspects have been taken to an undisclosed location for intensive questioning, as reported by TV9 Gujarati. The precise motive behind their presence at the Ahmedabad airport remains unclear, as reported by Hindustan Times.

4 Sri Lankan Suspected ISIS Terrorists Arrested - Here's What We Know

Security at the airport has been heightened following the arrests, which occurred ahead of the arrival of three IPL teams for the qualifier and eliminator games. The terrorists reportedly travelled to Ahmedabad from Sri Lanka via Chennai and were allegedly in contact with Pakistani handlers, according to local media reports.

Gujarat DGP Vikash Sahay stated, "Information was received that four individuals, namely, Mohammad Nusrat, Mohammad Nufran, Mohammad Faris, and Mohammad Razdin, were identified." Further, he shared that these four individuals are Sri Lankan nationals and active members of the banned terror outfit Islamic State. They had been completely radicalized by the ISIS ideology and were planning to come to India to commit a terror attack."

According to the information, they were expected to arrive in Ahmedabad on May 18 or 19, either by railway or flight. Teams were formed and a strategy was created based on the received information. Passenger lists of trains and flights arriving from the south were analyzed. All four of them were found to be travelling from Chennai to Ahmedabad on the same PNR number through an Indigo flight. Verification was also conducted in Colombo for confirmation."

Gujarat DGP Vikash Sahay provided details of the arrest operation involving the four ISIS members. He stated, "Since February 2024, these four individuals have been in contact with a person named Abu, who resides in Pakistan and is an ISIS leader. They communicated with him through social media."

Further, Sahay shared that Abu encouraged them to carry out a terror attack in India, and they were so radicalized that they agreed to suicide bombing. Abu also provided them with 4 lakh rupees in Sri Lankan currency.

"Two mobile phones recovered from them contained photographs and videos proving their active membership with ISIS. One of the phones had a picture of the Nana Chiloda area near Ahmedabad, indicating the location where ammunition was hidden to carry out the terror attack. Pakistan-made ammunition was recovered from this location, including three Pakistan-made pistols and 20 active cartridges," as stated by Gujarat DGP during the press conference.

In March, two top ISIS leaders in India were arrested near the international border after crossing from Bangladesh. The arrested individuals, identified as Harish Ajmal Farooqi alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, and Anurag Singh alias Rehan from Panipat, Haryana, were described as highly indoctrinated and motivated leaders of ISIS in India, as reported by Hindustan Times. They were involved in various activities including recruitment, terror funding, and planning terror acts using improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

According to the Special Task Force (STF), several cases had been registered against these two by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi and the ATS in Lucknow. Last October, Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama, a suspected ISIS terrorist on the NIA's most wanted list, was arrested by the Delhi Police during a major crackdown, as per media report. Shahnawaz, who was wanted in the Pune ISIS module case, had a reward of ₹3 lakh declared by the NIA for credible information leading to his arrest.