NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India on Saturday arrested nine suspected Al Qaeda operatives for allegedly planning a terror strike in various parts of the country at the behest of handlers from Pakistan.
All the nine operatives arrested from Kerala’s Ernakulam and West Bengal’s Murshidabad are linked to a terror plot targeting Kochi, Delhi and Mumbai, according to NIA officials.
Their targets included the Kochi naval base and shipyard, they said, adding that weapons and bomb-making material were also seized from the men, Indian media reported.
Six of them were arrested from Murshidabad and three from Ernakulam were planning single wolf attacks as human bombs, officials said.
“NIA had learnt about an inter-state module of Al-Qaeda operatives at various locations in India including West-Bengal and Kerala. The group was planning to undertake terrorist attacks at vital installations in India with an aim to kill innocent people and strike terror in their minds,” the agency said in a statement.
The agency has registered a case and initiated an investigation.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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