ISIS bomber held in Russia planned to attack India over 'insulting Prophet Muhammad'

Russia’s top intelligence agency said on Monday (August 22) that it has detained an Islamic State suicide bomber from a Central Asian country who was plotting a terrorist attack against a member of India’s leadership elite, Russia’s official media reported.

The terrorist, who was not identified by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), confessed that he was preparing an act of terrorism against a member of India’s ruling circles for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

In a video of his interrogation released by the Russian Federal Security Services Center for Public Relations (CPR) on Monday, the would-be suicide bomber said he swore allegiance to the IS Emir (chief) in April 2022 and underwent special training, after which he flew to Russia, from where he was to travel to India.

Also read: SC protects Nupur Sharma from coercive action in Prophet remark case

“I was supposed to be given things there to commit a terrorist attack at the behest of the IS for insulting the Prophet Muhammad,” he said.

BJP’s spokesperson Nupur Sharma was suspended and the party’s Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal was expelled by the party after their controversial remarks against the Prophet which sparked protests in the Muslim world.

According to FSB, the foreign national was recruited by one of the Islamic State’s ringleaders as a suicide bomber sometime between April and June 2022 while in Turkey, state-owned TASS news agency reported.

Also read: 2 terror suspects held in Assam; security beefed up in Punjab amid threat of attack

“The Federal Security Service has identified and apprehended in Russia a member of the outlawed (by the Russian Federation) Islamic State international terrorist organization. The detainee is a native of a Central Asian country, who planned to commit a terrorist attack against a member of India’s ruling circles by blowing himself up,” the FSB reported.

The terrorists “ideological indoctrination was conducted remotely via Telegram messenger accounts and during personal meetings in Istanbul with an IS representative, the CPR reported.

Also read: India, Bangladesh should ignore minor irritants, continue joint war on terror

The FSB noted that the terrorist swore allegiance to the IS Emir R(chief), after which he was instructed to leave for Russia, draw up the necessary documents and fly to India to commit this act of terrorism, the report said.

Dreaded terror group ISIS and all its affiliate organisations responsible for a series of savage attacks and killings in Iraq and Syria have been banned in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

(With inputs from agencies)