ISIS operative held from Bhopal:Special cell swoops down on him, another of his aides from Delhi; accused were planning IED attacks in national capital

The Delhi Police’s Special Cell on Friday arrested two suspected ISIS operatives, both identified as Adnan, officials said. As per officials, one of them is a resident of Delhi and the other one was caught from state’s capital Bhopal. The duo were allegedly being trained for fidayeen operations and had been planning IED-style attacks in crowded areas of Delhi. Arrests were executed in Sadiq Nagar (Delhi) and the Karond area of Bhopal, during which the cops recovered suspected incriminating material from both suspects. Targets, training and interrogation underway Police sources reported that the suspects were being prepared for suicide-style attacks and had shortlisted busy public locations in the national capital as targets. The Special Cell team is conducting detailed interrogations to establish the suspects’ motives, handlers and the extent of the network that facilitated their training and planning. Authorities confirmed the suspects maintained ties to ISIS. Bhopal accused was preparing for CA According to sources, the accused Adnan, caught from Bhopal, had been preparing for Chartered Accounts (CA) exams, and was in frequent touch with radical Islamists through WhatsApp groups. Seizure of suspicious items fuels probe According to the investigating cops, items recovered during the arrests are undergoing forensic analysis. The material is expected to provide leads about explosive manufacturing, procurement channels and communications with other operatives. The Special Cell is coordinating with other law-enforcement agencies to trace any wider conspiracy and to forestall possible follow-up strikes. Recent Special Cell operations expose wider network This operation follows a major Special Cell crackdown in September, when a larger terror module was dismantled and five suspects were arrested from several states. Those detained included Ashar Danish (23, Bokaro), Aftab Quraishi (25, Mumbai), Sufiyan Abubakar Khan (20, Mumbra), Mohammad Huzaif Yaman (20, Nizamabad) and Kamran Quraishi (26, Rajgarh). Investigators named Ashar Danish as the alleged mastermind, who reportedly styled himself a “Ghazwa leader” and “CEO”. Modus operandi and radicalisation Police allege the earlier group used encrypted social platforms to recruit and radicalise youth, posed as an NGO to groom followers and christened their cell Project Mustafa. Roles attributed to members included target selection and weapons manufacture. Authorities say the network was scouting locations to acquire land as operational bases and raising funds to procure or produce arms. The Special Cell has reiterated that investigations remain active and urged the public to report any suspicious activity to help security agencies neutralise threats rapidly.