Immediately after his arrest, suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Shahzad Alam told his interrogators that efforts were on to regroup the IM operatives who were on the run since the Batla House encounter in Delhi.
The warning of an attack had come from two directions, Azamgarh and Hyderabad. Immediately after his arrest, suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Shahzad Alam told his interrogators that efforts were on to regroup the IM operatives who were on the run since the Batla House encounter in Delhi.
In Hyderabad, Abdul Khaja alias Amjad — who had, along with Shahid Bilal, left Hyderabad to join terrorists in Pakistan — also told interrogators about efforts in Karachi to ‘do’ something in India. Amjad didn’t provide any specific details as he was kept out of preparations by his ISI handlers.
Alam has provided interesting insights into the working of the Indian Mujahideen, say intelligence sources. According to them, when Atif Ameen, ameer (head) of the strike force of IM operatives, was killed in the Batla House encounter, he was already preparing plans for 2010.
Alam told his interrogators that Ameen, in consultations with his Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handlers, was working on a three-pronged strategy — one, to conduct blasts in places frequented by foreigners; two, to motivate one of his operatives to become a fidayeen to attack VIPs; and three, to take the attack to cities apart from the metros.
They had plans ready to conduct blasts in Indore when the Batla
House encounter took place. Sources said Ameen was motivating Shadab Malik alias Shadab Beg to become a fidayeen (suicide bomber). He also had plans to attack places frequented by foreigners and high profile people in Delhi and elsewhere to get maximum publicity.
Sources disclosed that three IM operatives — Beg, Ariz alias Junaid and Salman — who managed to escape after the Batla House encounter — were on the forefront of efforts to regroup the IM.
All three operatives were experts in handling explosives. In fact, the bombs brought from Udupi and used in the Delhi attacks of 2008 were fine-tuned by them, apart from Ameen himself.
Similarly, arrested HuJI operative Khaja alias Amjad has said that IM leaders — brothers Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal — were currently in Karachi.
Amjad was quite close to Zarar Shah, one of the handlers of the 26/11 attackers. Amjad has confirmed details about ISI’s Karachi project, according to information provided by David Coleman Headley to the FBI. Using local elements to conduct blasts in India is the main strategy employed under the project.
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