IS attacks

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NEW DELHI: A lethal explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP) that was used by Islamic State (IS) bombers in the Paris and Brussels attacks was found in the basement of a Hyderabad house of a member of the IS module that was busted by the NIA on Wednesday.The deadly concoction seems to be a component ofgoing by the recent terrorist strikes. It was found from the basement of the house of Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Amoodi alias Fahad, one of the five youths arrested by the NIA. Had the IS module succeeded in its reported plans to carry out bomb blasts at targets that included VVIPs, crowded places and government buildings — including police stations — it would have been the first use of TATP in India.Sources said the IS suspects revealed that they planned to attack a police station, most likely in Hyderabad, making the NIA and intelligence agencies wonder if the module led by Mohammad Ibrahim Yazdani was considering a suicide attack.Investigators said Yazdani was guided by Syria-based Shafi Armar and had procured huge quantities of acetone, hydrogen peroxide and sulphuric acid, the primary ingredients of TATP. Often termed the ‘Mother of Satan’, the explosive is easy to make in a basement lab under controlled conditions with chemicals easily available at pharmacies, hardware shops and cosmetics stores, making it a popular choice of terror groups like al-Qaida and IS.The explosive, earlier used by suicide bombers in Israel, is a serious concern for the security establishment as TATP does not require a commercial metal detonator, which helps it beat traditional screening methods.When Fahad’s residence was raided early on Wednesday morning, the NIA team found around 200 litres of acetone, hydrogen peroxide and bottles of sulphuric acid. Interrogation of the suspects revealed that the chemicals were enough to make 40-50 IEDs and were purchased by arrested member Habeeb Mohammad alias Sir from Anantapur and Hyderabad.NIA sources on Thursday told TOI that the suspects appeared to have imbibed the choice of the bombers in Paris and Brussels. The choice of the new age explosive has set apart the module from earlier IS-inspired groups or even Indian Mujahideen, which relied on the usual potassium chlorate and nitrate-based explosives for bombs.