A PhD scholar and engineers – All 3 ISIS terror suspects are well educated, experts in making bombs

Delhi Police special cell team with arrested terror suspects (covered faces). ANI Photo


All the three suspected ISIS terrorists who were arrested today by a Delhi Police Special Cell team are engineering graduates and one of them was even pursuing PhD. According to reports, they were experts in making bombs and allegedly working for the proscribed terrorist organization ISIS.

One of the terror suspects arrested today has been identified as Mohammad Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama. He was on the list of National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) most wanted list and carried Rs 3 lakhs award on his head. The two others – Mohammed Rizwan Ashraf and Mohammed Arshad Warsi – are close associates of Uzzama.

A resident of Delhi, Uzzama and his associates were allegedly running an ISIS module in Maharashtra’s Pune. They were in contact with their handlers based in foreign countries.

“The module was planning to carry out terror incidents in North India, taking instructions from foreign-based handlers. Incriminating materials were recovered including materials suspected to be used for IED fabrication,” Delhi Police Special Cell said, according to news agency ANI.

Uzzama was allegedly involved in bomb-making and part of a bigger ISIS conspiracy to carry out attacks across India. He also converted his wife Basanti to Islam.

Uzzama, along with Mohammad Imran Mohammad Yunus Khan and Mohammad Yunus Mohammad Yakub Saki were arrested by Pune Police in early July this year while trying to steal a two-wheeler. However, Uzzama jumped out of the police vehicle and managed to escape.

During the investigation, Yunus Khan and Yakub Saki told the police that he has stored acid and other bomb-making material in Bopatghat near Kondhwa. When the NIA team reached the spot, they recovered the acid and several other chemicals used in bomb making. A hard drive was also found from his place. The 500-GB hard drive contained DIY information on bomb making.