Explosives recovered from ISIS suspect’s house in Uttar Pradesh: Police

Over 20 kilograms (kg) of explosives concealed in jackets, belts and polythene covers, three lithium batteries and a flag of the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group were among the items recovered from the Uttar Pradesh home of Mohd Mustakim Khan (36), the terror suspect who was arrested by the Delhi Police after a brief exchange of fire near the national capital’s Dhaula Kuan on Friday night, the police said on Sunday.

Khan, who has been sent to police custody for eight days, is from Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Balrampur district.

Khan, a former cosmetics shop owner, who goes by his alias Abu Yusuf Khan acording to police, was allegedly riding a motorcycle from Dhaula Kuan towards Karol Bagh on Friday night, when he was arrested from the Ridge area. Police said two “pressure cooker-based improvised explosive devices (IEDs)” were seized from him. The IEDs were loaded with around 12 kg of explosives. A pistol and a few bullets were also recovered from Khan.

Pramod Kushwah, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (special cell), Delhi Police, had said on Saturday that Khan was acting at the behest of his ISIS handlers, who are based abroad, to carry out “lone wolf attacks” at places with a high footfall in the national capital.

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On Sunday, the DCP said that a host of explosives and devices meant to be used for detonation have been recovered from Khan’s home in UP.

“We found a brown and a blue-coloured jackets containing seven explosive packets. Each of these seven packets was wrapped with transparent tape and contained explosives and cardboard sheets pasted with ball bearings. Electric wires were jutting out of these packets,” said Kushwah.

The police claimed to have recovered cylindrical metal boxes containing explosives and electric wires wrapped with transparent tape, two more cylindrical boxes with ball bearings pasted over them and a broken wooden box that Khan would allegedly use for “target practice”.

A dozen boxes containing ball bearings, three lithium batteries, a table alarm watch, an ampere, wires and other smaller subversive items were also seized from his home, said DCP Kushwah.

“An IS flag was another incriminating piece of evidence recovered from his home,” the DCP said.

Khan was trained in making IEDs with timer mechanism, suicide vests and suicide belts, Kushwah said. “Earlier, he had tested an IED at a graveyard near his home,” the DCP said.

Khan is accused of being a member of the IS sleeper cell for the past five years. The police are on the lookout for accomplices.