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In the recent raid, Al-Qaeda terrorist Ikramul Haque alias Abu Talha who is said to be ‘India’s most wanted’ was arrested from the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka with his wife on May 30.
The top leader of the Dawah wing of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Ikramul Haque alias Abu Talha has reportedly, around dozen terrorism-related cases registered against him in India. He is named as one of the ‘most wanted’ in India. He is known to be one of the critical recruiters for Al-Qaeda. The information of him being a recruiter is given by the members of Al-Qaeda, who were arrested in India. They all named Abu Talha as their recruiter. He is also called ‘Maulana Sabet’ with the Al-Qaeda members.
Talha is originally a Bangladeshi citizen who entered India on a tourist visa and enrolled in the Deoband Seminary. To blend with the people of India, he also forged an Indian Identity card (Aadhaar Card) with the faux name, Noor Hossain. Bangladeshi media also claimed that his wife, Faria Afrin is also one of the women’s wing in the same terror group.
According to the reports, he was arrested by Bangladesh’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) officials on May 30. Reportedly by the sources of Dhaka-based intelligence, it is being said that India has been trying to seek Ikramul for his malicious intentions and recruitment activities for the Al-Qaeda members. Indian authorities were aware of Talha hiding in Bangladesh so therefore, they contacted their Bangladesh counterparts regarding the matter and requested help. Bangladesh’s CTTC also claimed that a month before Talha was announced as the ‘most wanted’ in India, they had detained him for similar activities.
Head of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) of Dhaka and Additional Commissioner of DMP Asad Uz Zaman quoted to Bangla Tribune, “Ikramul Haque alias Abu Talha is the top leader of AQIS. There are at least 10 cases against him in India. He was most wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies. Recently, after some Bangladeshis were arrested as members of AQIS in Gujarat, they also named Abu Talha a recruiter. Abu Talha along with his wife was arrested in a raid recently,”
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), is a Bangladesh-based terrorist group and an operation to crack them down started in India. The Assam police arrested the first member in March 2022 after several months of operations by the intelligence bureau. After that, more than 50 arrests were carried out all across the country.
The latest arrest was carried out by Gujarat ATS last month in which they arrested 5 AQIS members from Bangladesh. 8 operatives from AQIS were arrested from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. They recognized and named Ikramul Haque alias Abu Talha as their top lead and recruiter.
When on May 2023, 4 more AQIS operatives were arrested from Gujarat by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), all four of them identified Talha as the same as all other members of the terrorist squad.
Talha reportedly gave training to the members and recruited them from India and Bangladesh.
