The National Investigation Agency (NIA), on Wednesday (June 12) morning, conducted raids in at least 10 locations after a youth was suspected of having links with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The raids took place in Anbu Nagar, Kuniyamutghur and Pothanur areas of Coimbatore.
"We have multiple search warrants and are raiding residences of men who are suspected to be organising groups to join the ISIS or are in touch with terror groups and are planning to join them," an NIA source was quoted as saying by The News Minute.
The raids were conducted days after the suicide bomb blasts which rocked Sri Lanka, killing over 250 people and injuring more than 500.
However, when asked if the raids were linked to the Sri Lankan bomb blasts, the NIA source said, "No, that is not the case. This is in continuation to searches we have been conducting in Kochi in Kerala."
The Kochi unit of the NIA is reportedly assisting in the raids.
Shortly after the bomb blasts in April in Sri Lanka, the NIA had cracked down on suspected terror units in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The suspects were identified as Mohammed Ashiq, Ismail, Samsudeen, Jafar Sadik Ali and Shahul Hameed and they were directly in touch with Zahran Hashim for over three years.
Hashim was a key member of the National Thowheed Jamaath, a jihadi terror organisation in Sri Lanka, and was also said to be the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday bombings on April 21.
Mohammed Ashiq, one of the suspects who was arrested, was in contact with several National Thowheed Jamaath leaders. He is also suspected to have plotted the murder of several Hindutva leaders in India. He and five others were accused of planning to assassinate Arjun Sampath of the Hindu Makkal Katchi in Tamil Nadu.
