The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested 11 suspected terror operatives following raids in West Bengal and Kerala on a group allegedly linked to the Pakistan-sponsored Al Qaeda. As per sources, three operatives were arrested from Ernakulam in Kerala while eight operatives were picked up from Murshidabad district in West Bengal by the NIA, foiling their plot to carry out a terror attack.The Al-Qaeda operatives were said to target government installations in the Delhi-NCR region, sources informed. The arrested terrorists will be produced before the concerned Courts in Kerala and West Bengal for police custody and further investigation.
The agency also collected incriminating materials including digital devices, documents, jihadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, articles and literature used for making home-made explosive devices have been seized from their possession. As per preliminary investigation, these individuals were radicalised by Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda terrorists on social media and were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places including the National Capital Region. For this purpose, the module was actively indulging in fund raising and a few members of gang were planning to travel to New Delhi to procure arms and ammunition.