◆15,000-strong 'dharma sena' in Uttar Pradesh readies for war with Islamic State
【Dasna/Rori/Meerut】From the outskirts of India's capital to the Uttarakhand border, an outfit known as Hindu Swabhiman is raising and training what it calls a "dharma sena" to wage war against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), which it believes will occupy western UP by 2020.
Its leaders claim there are already 15,000 "soldiers" who are ready to die to safeguard their faith. A TOI team, over the course of a week, visited four such camps spread around the communally sensitive belt of western UP and found that the outfit has even enlisted child soldiers, some of them as young as eight years old. All were being taught to use swords and firearms. The leaders of the outfit, headquartered at a temple at Dasna in Ghaziabad district, claim their ranks are swelling by the week. Of the 50 known training camps, some are clandestine and others, like those at Bamheta and Rori, are openly teaching men and women, boys and girls, to be ready "for when the enemy strikes".
○Country-wide terror raids: NIA picks up five suspects
【New Delhi】A network reportedly connected to the Islamic State and planning to carry out simultaneous bomb blasts across the country was busted by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) on the 22nd of January.
While four persons were picked up from Hyderabad in Telangana, several more were detained from Rajasthan and Karnataka in raids conducted on Thursday night. Members of the network, which decided to carry out terror attacks at public places, planned to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on their own. Six suspected terrorists were arrested today by the NIA in Karnataka in coordination with the state police, Home Minister G Parameshwara said.
The crackdown comes days after the arrest of a madrassa teacher from Bengaluru for suspected links with al-Qaeda, and office of the Consulate General of France received a threat letter against French President Francois Hollande's proposed visit to India on the occasion of the Republic Day.
Abdul Sheikh (40) was arrested last night from Amrit Nagar area of Thane district in a joint operation by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and National Investigation Agency, police sources said.
【News source】
15,000-strong ‘dharma sena’ in Uttar Pradesh readies for war with Islamic State
Country-wide terror raids: NIA picks up 10 suspects
Terror crackdown: Six suspected terrorists arrested in Karnataka
Terror crackdown: Man with suspected terror links held in Thane
Terror crackdown: Man with suspected terror links held in Thane
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