Mohammed Shafi Armar from Bhatkal killed in US airstrike in Syria

April 25, 2016

Bhatkal, Apr 25: Alleged Islamic State (IS) recruiter Mohammed Shafi Armar, hailing from coastal Karnataka's Bhatkal town, is learnt to have been killed in a U.S. air strike on Syria in the last couple of days.

isisA senior intelligence official in New Delhi tracking developments on IS said that they had received the information from their American counterparts on Sunday night. “We are in the process of cross-verifying it on the ground by our men. From initial reports, he is, in all probability, dead,” said the official. Intelligence agencies are also monitoring pro-IS social media handles for confirmation from the IS side.

Armar was recently in the news after the National Investigation Agency and Intelligence Bureau had, in a countrywide crackdown, arrested 14 men, of which six were from Karnataka, on allegations of being in touch with the IS.

It later turned out that all the 14 arrested were in touch with Armar, who headed the Ansar-Ul-Tawhid, an offshoot of IS previously headed by his brother Sultan Armar. However, investigation had then revealed that he was operating under a new banner Janood Al Khalifa Hind, a local terror outfit.

The new terror outfit had an Amir, a military chief and a treasurer, all of whom were busted in the January 2016 operation. While all those arrested were under the scanner for IS leanings, an intervention was necessitated after agencies observed that the gang was working towards a terror strike within India.

“This clearly shows that Shafi Armar had aspirations to be the new Jehadi terror leader in the country filling the place of the Indian Mujahiddeen,” said the senior intelligence official.

In fact, he started his terror career with Indian Mujahiddeen, when he was recruited along with Sultan Armar to it by Riyaz Bhatkal in 2008, sources said. The brothers were holed up in Pakistan since then, agencies said.

However, in 2011-12, they started the Ansar-Ul-Tawhid, which was first operating from North Waziristan in Pakistan from the training camps of Tehrik-e-Taliban.

In fact, IS chief Abu-Bakr-Al-Bhagdadi in a video message had declared Sultan Armar as an Amir (leader) of AuT. He was killed on March 6, 2015 in a similar air strike in Kobane, Syria.

According to NIA, over the last two years, Shafi Armar had emerged as the chief online recruiter of IS in the country.

Those arrested in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh in April 2015, the four men arrested in New Delhi and Rourkela in January 2016 were also recruited by him, agencies claim. “Of late, he had emerged as the only common link among many IS recruits in the country,” the senior intelligence official said.

NIA officials had said that he followed a three-step recruitment process — first he would scout for vulnerable Muslim youth on social media like Facebook and Twitter, after which he would get in touch with them directly over web-based applications and brainwash them to join the IS. He would later use encrypted applications like Kik, Telegram to send instructions.

Comments

PK
 - 
Monday, 25 Apr 2016

Wow.... Lets FORGET Malegaon TWist and concentrate on this new terrorist... .... any way our indian people still believing such news flash even after exposing the media LIES ... what to do some Animals are used to accept like donkeys whatever is said in the MEDiA.

Viren Kotian
 - 
Monday, 25 Apr 2016

Hahaha. Idu kanri suddi andre.. Great news. need to eliminate these animals one by one across the world.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Hubballi, Jan 15: Leaders of the Muslim community, Dalit organisations, Congress Party, and others are staging a hunger strike at Dr B R Ambedkar Circle in Hubballi, opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, they demanded the withdrawal of the CAA and not to implement NRC.

"India is witnessing such a dictatorship for the first time. The BJP government is trying to divide people into the lines of religion, through CAA and NRC. This move is a threat for peace and harmony in the country," said AICC member Shakir Sanadi, who led the protest.

Sayed Tajuddin Quadri, Moulana Niyaz Alam, Moulana Nayimuddin and others took part in the hunger strike.

Former minister A M Hindasgeri, former MP I G Sanadi, F H Jakkappanavar, Pitambrappa Bilar, and others also extended support to the protest.

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News Network
March 10,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 10: Congress leader NA Haris on Tuesday said that keeping Jammu and Kashmir leaders under house arrest is not democratic.

Speaking to media persons he said, "It is not done. Keeping the leaders under house arrest in Jammu and Kashmir is not democratic."

Haris said that nobody is talking about it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not talking about it and nothing is happing.

"About Kashmir, it is better to say less as nobody is talking about it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not talking about it and nothing is happening. It does not look good," he told media.

"I think leaders should be brought to the table and discussion on issues should take place. Do whatever has to be done for the country," he added.

The Jammu and Kashmir Administration had on February 5 invoked the Public Safety Act (PSA) against former Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah. The duo was detained after the Central government abrogated Article 370 last year.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 18,2020

Mangaluru, May 18: The coastal city of Mangaluru and other parts of twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi are receiving heavy rain coupled with lightning and thunder.

The rain, which started in the wee hours, continued to lash for hours. It brought much relief from the sweltering heat.

Waterlogged roads in different parts of Mangaluru cause inconvenience to motorists. The clouds were so dark that the drivers were forced to switch on the headlights while driving vehicles in the morning.

The IMD has predicted heavy rain in the coastal Karnataka for next two days.

Lighting claims a life

Meanwhile, a youth died after lightning struck him at Paduyenagudde in Katpadi of Udupi district on Sunday late night. The deceased was identified as Bharat. Though he was rushed to the hospital, he failed to respond to the treatment.

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