The Islamic State has reportedly made Pune a focal point for planning terrorist attacks.
A terrorist plot against two Gujarat cities - Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar - and Nariman House and Gateway of India in Mumbai has been foiled, police sources told NDTV Thursday. Strikes against unspecified high-profile military bases - photographs of which were reportedly sent to Pakistan and Syria - were also foiled, sources said, claiming these may have been planned by the Islamic State,
These could have been among the biggest ever terror strikes on India, sources said, basing their input on the confession of Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama, a suspected Islamic State operative arrested by Delhi Police from a hideout in the national capital early last month.
There are indications Aligarh Muslim University students may have been involved.
According to sources, the Islamic State has made Pune the focal point of its plans.
Shahnawaz was wanted in the Islamic State Pune module case. Sources said he fled the city in July, after two associates were arrested, reached Delhi and has been underground since.
READ | Suspected ISIS Terrorists Arrested By Delhi Police In Major Breakthrough
In his confession, Shahnawaz told authorities his wife was a Hindu before she converted to Islam and that the two met at Aligarh University, where they became involved in terror plots.
'To Improve Financial Condition'
Sources said Shahnawaz was looking to improve his financial condition when he got sucked into illegal activities as a youngster in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh, his hometown. After becoming radicalised, he was trained by Anbar al-Awlaki, senior Al Qaeda operative killed in a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011.
Hizb ut-Tahrir
As part of his confession, Shahnawaz said he joined the Hizb ut-Tahir, an Islamist organisation whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic Caliphate to unite all Muslims.
In August the NIA conducted raids in Bhopal linked to the HuT. This was after raids in May - in Telangana and Madhya Pradesh - led to 16 arrests and several terror modules being busted.
READ | Anti-Terror Agency Raids In Bhopal Linked To Radical Outfit Module
The HuT is banned in several countries, including Bangladesh, Indonesia, China and Germany.
Meanwhile, sources said Shahnawaz also told authorities of hawala routes through which money is sent to modules in Pune, which is used to make bombs and to train terrorists.
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