Islam Mohamed

A deadly blow dealt by Indian security authorities to a militant group named Indian Mujahedeen has reportedly led its fugitive fighters to tuck their heads under the ISIS banner. It was in August 2013 when the Indian security authorities managed to defuse the threat of the Indian Mujahedeen after arresting Yassin Bhatkal, one of its most notorious leaders, at the Indian-Nepalese borders.

The Indian Mujahedeen was formed by a 36-years old computer engineer named Abdul-e-Sobh Qureshi. Due to his hi-tech expertise, Qureshi was responsible for manufacturing explosives set to detonate by remote control.

The Indian militant group grabbed the press headlines again on Sept. 11 after an Indian court delivered death sentence to two of its terrorists, Anik Shafik Said and Mohamed Akbar Ismail Chaowdhry, after finding them guilty of launching two bombings in Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian southern state of Telangana on August 25, 2007.   Three suspects still at large were sentenced in absentia.

The first bomb exploded in an amusement park; and the second explosion took place five minutes later in a popular restaurant. At least 42 people were killed in the two bombings.

The Indian Mujahedeen was designated terrorist group on June 4, 2010. Following the decision by the Indian government, the US officially added this militant group to the list of designated terrorist organisations. The British government also banned the Indian Mujahedeen for waging a war of terror in the sub-Continent to establish a Muslim state.

According to the Indian security authorities, Indian Mujahedeen fighters hailed from Azmharah in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to the east of New Delhi.  The group had lost several of its fighters in exchanges of fire with the Indian security authorities. They included Mohamed Sajed, who was the terrorist behind the bombing in the Connaught Place in the Indian capital. The Indian security authorities also managed to gun down a militant named Mohamed Atef, nicknamed Al-Bashir, who planted a bomb in Kailash Health Village.

Indian Mujahedeen gained notoriety after it claimed—via emails—its responsibility for a series of terrorist attacks and bombings, which took place in different Indian states, such as Uttar Pradesh in 2007;   and Bangalore, New Delhi and Jaipur in 2008. Qureshi’s terrorist group was also behind the devastating bombings in Mumbai in 2011.

The Indian security authorities were on red alert on May 21, 2016 after ISIS released a videoed message, in which it threatened to launch reprisal attacks after the killing of Muslims at the hands  of Hindus in Gujarat, the birthplace of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.