India: Islamic State employs itinerant instructors to educate on crafting IEDs

The terrorist group known as the Islamic State (ISIS) has adopted a new strategy for recruiting individuals referred to as "roaming trainers" to teach the production of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). These trainers frequently change their locations and provide instruction on crafting explosives to dormant cells located in different regions.

During an investigation into the discovery of explosives in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh district in 2022, two ISIS operatives, Imran Khan and Mohd Yunus Saki, were apprehended by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The investigation revealed that Khan and Saki, residents of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, had received specialized training in IED manufacturing.

After acquiring expertise in IED production, the duo organized numerous training sessions for sleeper cell members of the terrorist group in Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. They also had plans to extend their activities to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra.

According to NIA sources, Imran Khan was the mastermind behind the seizure of IEDs in Chittorgarh the previous year. These explosives had been brought there with the intention of providing bomb-making training to new recruits in the desert state. However, security agencies became aware of their plans, prompting Khan and Saki to flee to Maharashtra.

The investigation into the Chittorgarh IED case led the NIA to an ISIS-inspired terrorist organization called "SUFA." The NIA stated that Saki and Imran Khan were actively involved in propagating the ISIS ideology prior to their arrests in Maharashtra. Earlier, the NIA had confiscated explosives and various components used in IED fabrication from the suspects.

The investigation revealed that the two individuals had procured materials and substances for manufacturing IEDs with the aim of spreading terror and chaos in Rajasthan and other parts of India, according to the NIA.

These arrested individuals were highly skilled in IED fabrication and were also responsible for training their co-conspirators in the art of creating such devices at Imran Khan's poultry farm, which was seized by the NIA last month.

After their escape to Mumbai and eventual settlement in Pune the previous year, they conducted at least two workshops in Pune for training and manufacturing IEDs.