These brothers planned lone-wolf strikes in Gujarat: ATS

Investigations also revealed that the brothers were impressed by the Caliphate and wanted to be part of a crusade against the 'non-believers'.

Ahmedabad, Feb 27: The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad claimed to have foiled a major terror bid on Sunday in the state following the arrest of two brothers. Vaseem and Naeem were arrested by the ATS at Bhavnagar and investigations showed that they were planning on launching a lone-wolf attack in the state.

One a graphics designer and the other a scrap dealer, the brothers were being guided by a handler of the Islamic State, the ATS said. From their home, a knife, an axe, bomb-making manual among other explosive material has been seized.

It may be recalled that following a nationwide raid by the National Investigation Agency in 2015, several operatives of the IS were arrested. The Gujarat ATS claims that several leads had emerged following that raid. The brothers who played cricket at the district level are said to have discussed with each other about the growth of the IS.

ATS officials say that the tone of their conversation was suspicious and hence they were picked up. The ATS is also scanning the web chats of Vaseem with a handler who is suspected to be from the IS. Investigations also revealed that they were impressed by the Caliphate and wanted to be part of a crusade against the 'non-believers.'

The duo have been charged under the Explosives Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and also the Indian Penal Code. The ATS is probing further to find out if they were in touch with more persons from the state.

OneIndia News