Indian Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has said it has arrested four people with intention of traveling to Afghanistan to join the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).
According to The Hindu, three men from Srinagar were detained in Porbandar, a city in the Gujarat state, and a woman was detained from Surat, another city in the state.
The Director General of Gujarat Police was quoted saying to the newspaper that the men were planning to use a fishing boat from Porbandar to cross the International Maritime Boundary Line and reach Afghanistan via Iran and join the ISKP.
“They were directed by their handler Abu Hamza to reach Porbandar and join a fishing boat as fishermen and tell the boat captain to reach the given GPS coordinates mid-sea and from there they were to be taken to Iran on a boat and provided with fake passports for Afghanistan and finally reach Khorasan via Herat,” the Director General added.
The Gujarat ATS stated that evidence shows that the suspects were seen with an ISKP banner in images retrieved by the police and indicated that they wanted to fight for the ISKP in Afghanistan.
The officials of the ATS noted that another suspect is at large and efforts are underway to arrest the person.
The arrest of these persons intending to join ISKP in Afghanistan comes amid widespread allegations against the Taliban authorities who are accused of maintaining strong links with transnational terrorist outfits and that Afghanistan has become a safe haven for these groups.
Despite the surge in ISKP threat in the country, the Taliban seems to be less effective in containing the terrorist activities of the group which has claimed to have killed hundreds of civilians and several Taliban officials in recent years.
