In a major hunt across south Indian cities, security agencies have successfully arrested five Al-Qaeda suspects involved in five bomb blasts in court premises.
New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's National Investigative Agency (NIA) has apprehended five youth suspected to have links with al-Qaeda. The NIA had launched a 24-hour joint operation with state police forces.
"During sustained examination, they have confessed their involvement in these blasts," the NIA said in a statement. After interrogation, three members were arrested on Monday and two others on Tuesday. NIA claimed that during preliminary questioning, arrested persons accepts the plan they were being planning to carry out attack on India's top 22 leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Indian agencies were being searching these youths for their involvement in a serial of bomb blasts occurred in south India court complexes since April this year. The responsibility of the blasts was claimed by an organization called "The Base Movement" in its propaganda material left behind in pen drives and pamphlets at the crime scenes at Nellore and Malappuram court premises. The Base Movement is literal translation of al-Qaeda.
"The arrested persons shall be produced before the local courts for seeking transit remand for taking them to NIA Special Court at Bangalore, where a case is registered," read the NIA statement.
The recent past has seen several instances of youths from southern India being picked up by agencies for their links to terrorist organizations like Daesh and al-Qaeda.
This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.