Arrested suspects pledged allegiance to IS and Baghdadi: NIA

New Delhi: In a major development since the arrest of five IS suspects in Hyderabad, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday revealed the suspects had money transactions from Middle East on several occasions through 'hawala' and that they also pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State. It was during the ongoing investigation of the arrested persons that it was revealed that the suspects scouted for hideouts nearby Hyderabad for assembling the bombs and also for safe shelter after committing the bomb attack. According to a statement by NIA IG Sanjeev Kumar Singh, two arrested persons - Ibrahim and Iliyas are brothers, while Habeeb and Fahad are related by matrimony and one of the accused had earlier attempted to go to Syria via other neighbouring country. "The accused were using chat and email platforms for communicating amongst themselves as well as the handler. They had visited other places outside Hyderabad for procurement of explosive precursor chemicals and firearms," the statement read. Stating that the suspects had divided portfolios among themselves for carrying out their objectives, the report further says that they had also entered into a joint pledge owing allegiance to the Islamic State and its commander Baghdadi and one of them confessed that the pledge had been conveyed to Baghdadi. Meanwhile, the role of the other suspects is being examined and the seized items are being analysed and data examination is going on. Earlier, the NIA detained 11 people for suspected terror links to ISIS in raids which it conducted at several places in Hyderabad, out of which five were sent to 12-day custody. NIA sources said that they had information that 5 of those detained on Wednesday were involved in terrorist activities. An FIR was registered against them on June 22. Those five people were identified as Mohammad Illiyas Yazdani, Mohammad Ibrahim, Habib Mohd, Mohammad Irfan, Abdullah Bin Ahmad, according to the NIA. Rs 15 lakh cash, a 9 mm pistol, an air gun and chemicals used in highly explosive devices were recovered from the suspects. The NIA also seized a few training materials during the searches. Earlier this year in January, 14 people who were suspected sympathisers of the ISIS were held from across the country by the NIA, out of which, two suspects were arrested in Hyderabad.