Indian police arrest three suspected al-Qaeda operatives
Indian law enforcement agencies have detained at least three suspected operatives of an al-Qaeda affiliate from various parts of the country, a senior police official says.
Arvind Deep, a special police commissioner in the capital, New Delhi, said on Thursday that the militants belonging to the so-called al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) were arrested from different states of the South Asian country.
The official also described the detentions as the first successful raid against the militant group since it was set up last year.
“We have busted this module before they could do anything, so it is a big achievement,” Deep added.
Delhi police said in a statement that one of the suspects, identified as 41-year old Mohammad Asif, was a founding member of AQIS, expressing hope that the detentions are likely to reveal other al-Qaeda affiliates in India.
In September 2014, militant sources announced the formation of the terror group, vowing to mount attacks across the violence-hit Indian Peninsula.
Indian media reports say Asif told investigators that he had also traveled to the Pakistani northwestern tribal region of Waziristan to hold meetings with senior al-Qaeda leaders there.
Senior authorities in New Delhi in the past have accused militant groups based in Pakistan of carrying out attacks across India. However, Pakistan has denied the Indian claims, saying home-grown militants are responsible for the violence.
Pakistan has promised to crack down on all terror groups, including those launching attacks in India, following the aftermath of the Peshawar school massacre that killed more than 150 people, mostly children, on December 16, 2014.
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