India: Terrorism suspects arrested in Delhi ahead of Independence Day

Event

Two suspected Al-Qa'ida-affiliated individuals were arrested in Delhi in operations carried out by the Delhi Police and West Bengal police in recent days. The arrests come ahead of the celebration of Independence Day on Tuesday, August 15.

On Thursday, August 10, Syed Mohammed Zishan Ali was reportedly arrested at the Delhi Airport, after arriving from Saudi Arabia.  It is unclear if Ali was deported from Saudi Arabia or left the country voluntarily. Ali is allegedly affiliated with Al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), and has been wanted by Indian police since 2015 on suspicion of planning terror attacks in the country. It is also reported that Ali was attempting to recruit young men to join AQIS and managed the organization’s finances. Police officials also reported the recent arrest of Raja-ul-Ahmed, a  suspected member of Ansar Bangla, a Bangladesh-based al-Qa'ida affiliate. Ahmed is suspected of smuggling fake Indian banknotes from Bangladesh to India, and was allegedly planning on fleeing to Nepal at the time of his arrest.

No imminent threat of an attack was reported by police officials. Nevertheless, expect tight security measures in major urban areas due to a heightened terror threat around Independence Day celebrations on Tuesday, August 15.

Context

According to Western intelligence services, there is a high threat from terrorism in India. Terrorist attacks have been carried out by a number of terrorist and insurgent groups including Lashkar-e Tayyiba, Jaish-e Mohammed, Al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent, and the Indian Mujahideen. While most of these have been against the local population, terrorists have also previously targeted locations visited by Westerners, including public places such as restaurants, hotels, railway stations, markets, places of worship, festivals, and sporting venues. In December 2016, American diplomatic authorities warned that Islamic State (IS) could stage an attack targeting sites frequented by Westerners in India (religious sites, markets, festivals, etc.).

Advice

No country is exempt from the risk of terrorist attack; remain vigilant and report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities. Due to the high terrorist threat, always be on guard when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.). ​