Techie with alleged links to Al-Qaeda picked up in Bengaluru

The agencies learnt that Arif was in constant with handlers and operatives of the Al-Qaeda

Bengaluru, Feb 11: In a major development, the Internal Security Department (ISD) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested one Arif who is suspected to be linked to the Al-Qaeda.

Arif, a resident of Uttar Pradesh was working as a software engineer in a private firm. He was working from home, the agencies said while adding that they had him on the radar for sometime for his alleged terror links.

Reports said that the accused was picked up from his Thanisandra residence in Bengaluru. The agencies raided the premises and confiscated documents and electronic equipment. The probe revealed that Arif was in touch with the Al-Qaeda operatives for the past two years, through a messaging platform on Telegram. He also communicated through the dark web with his handlers who were operatives of the terror group.

The agencies are now probing the financial transactions as he was planning to travel to Syria in March 2023. Arif is currently being interrogated at an undisclosed location by the security agencies.

About the Al-Qaeda:

The Al-Qaeda an Islamic terrorist group was founded in the late 1980s by Osama Bin Laden. The outfit is responsible for major attacks, the biggest being the 9/11 strikes. The main aim of the group is to promote an extremist interpretation of Islam.

Osama Bin Laden who masterminded the 9/11 attacks was hiding in Pakistan when he was killed by the US security forces. Following his death, the outfit was headed by Ayman al-Zawahiri, who too was recently killed by the US forces in Afghanistan.

Over the years, the outfit has been weakened largely in the absence of a strong leadership and the rise of the Islamic State. The agencies however do not write off the Al-Qaeda and consider it to be a potential threat in many parts of the world. It has branches in many African nations. The outfit also has a significant presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It has however not gained much traction in India, but has sub-groups such as the Base Movement which operate mainly in Kerala.