NEW DELHI, Mar. 9 (Xinhua) -- Indian police Thursday claimed to have arrested the leader of a self-proclaimed Islamic State cell that was said to be behind Tuesday's explosion on a train -- a former defense personnel.
"Ghaus Mohammad Khan was picked up from Kanpur by the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Uttar Pradesh Police, and he revealed vital information during interrogation," Additional Director General of UP Police, Daljit Chaudhary, told the media.
Police said that Ghaus Mohammad Khan worked in the Indian Air Force for 15 years and he used his technical expertise to assemble and supply arms and plan attacks, including the blast on the train in the central state of Madhya Pradesh in which 10 people were injured.
The 22-year-old terror suspect, Saifullah, who was killed at a hideout in Lucknow after a 12-hour gun battle on Wednesday morning, was part of Khan's terror module.
Sources said the police managed to identify some of the suspects from closed-circuit television footage from near the train explosion site.
"However, there is no direct evidence to link the terror suspects to the Islamic State. They appeared to be self proclaimed. Moreover, there is no evidence of any outside funding or external support. They were self reliant," Chaudhary said.
Sources said the terror module complied with the pattern of Islamic State cells busted in the southern states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, who were indoctrinated online, largely self funded, and told to organise weapons on their own to attack local targets.
