The Special Task Force (STF) of Assam Police has arrested two more operatives of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a militant group associated with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
The STF detained Abul Zahar SK, 30, from Kokrajhar’s Joypur Namapara area. Acting on intelligence gathered during his interrogation, authorities recovered a cache of illegal weapons and explosive-making materials. Items seized from Zahar’s possession
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The arrests are part of a larger crackdown on ABT operatives, with eight individuals apprehended earlier across Assam, West Bengal, and Kerala. The operation included the arrest of five individuals from Assam’s Kokrajhar and Dhubri districts, two from West Bengal, and one Bangladeshi national in Kerala.
These individuals are alleged members of a jihadi module actively operating in the northeastern region, with potential links to extremist activities in neighboring states and across borders.
The ABT, a Bangladesh-based terrorist organization, has been designated as a threat to national security in India. Over the past few years, the group has sought to establish networks in India’s northeastern states, exploiting porous borders and targeting vulnerable communities.
Assam has seen a heightened focus on dismantling such networks following intelligence reports indicating plans for recruitment and radicalization in rural and border areas. The state police, in collaboration with national agencies, have intensified operations, resulting in the uncovering of sleeper cells and the seizure of arms and explosives.
