Gujarat ATS arrests 4 IS affiliates from Porbandar

Porbandar, June 10 (IANS) The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat Police has arrested four Islamic State (IS) affiliates after it dismanted a module of the terrorist group in the coastal town of Porbandar.

The four arrested individuals include a woman named Sumera from Surat, the police said, adding that another person involved with the IS module is currently at large.

According to the police, these suspects were active members of the IS module with plans to abscond and officially join the terror group.

For the past year or so, they had been engaging in regular communication and were reportedly radicalised by their Pakistani handlers, the police added.

The crackdown on the IS module began on Friday under the leadership of DIG Deepan Bhadran and SP Sunil Joshi.

The apprehended suspects had been under the surveillance of the ATS for an extended period, during which their activities were meticulously documented and tracked.

The operation is ongoing.

In 2017, the Gujarat ATS had arrested two suspected IS terrorists, reportedly brothers, who were purportedly preparing to launch a series of bombings at various religious sites across the state.

The arrested took place in Rajkot and Bhavnagar.