As Forces Kill The Terrorist In Lucknow, Here's What You Need To Know About ISIS' First Attack On Indian Soil

A low-intensity blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train at Jabri railway station on Tuesday, agencies said was the first time an Islamic State module carried out an attack in India. Ten people had suffered injuries in the explosion.

BCCL

Following the blast, police teams from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh launched coordinated operations in the two states arresting eight members of the group.

Three of the accused, Danish, Mir Hussain and Atish Muzaffar ¡ª were arrested from Pipariya in MP. Mohammad Faisal and Mohammad Irfan, who are siblings, were nabbed from Jajmau near Kanpur, while another, Alam, was picked up from Etawah in UP.

BCCL

The man suspected to be the courier of the explosive which went off on the train was injured in the explosion and was arrested from the spot.

Another operative suspected to be the leader of the group, Saifullah was shot dead by the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad in Thakurganj area of Lucknow after a siege operation that went on for nearly 12 hours.

BCCL

Saifullah had taken shelter a house and tried to fire at the ATS officers who tried to arrest him.

Officials said Saifullah, a member of the ISIS Khorasan module, was alone at the house and earlier reports of a second gunman were false.

BCCL

After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

Eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train timetable were found inside the room in which police recovered the body of Saifullah.

BCCL

While the agencies confirm the group's allegiance to ISIS, there is no clarity on whether the directions for the strike came from Syria. The terrorist, agencies believe, was radicalised through social media and was in contact with ISIS operatives in Syria.

BCCL

The low-intensity blast, they believe was a trial run for the ISIS in India before it could carry out more damaging strikes. This is for the first time that an attack has been carried out by ISIS in India, using the recruits radicalised from within the country.

In the past too, a number of ISIS modules have tried to carry out attacks in cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, but were foiled by authorities.

In October the NIA had busted Ansar-ul-Khalifa an ISIS module in Kerala which was preparing for a Nice-style terror attack using vehicles as weapons.