Lucknow shootout: All you need to know about slain suspected ISIS terrorist Saifullah

Saifullah is believed to have links with the blast that took place in the Bhopal-Ujjain train on Tuesday that left at least 10 people injured

By: News Desk |
March 8, 2017 3:25 pm

Suspected ISIS terrorist Saifullah was on Wednesday morning killed in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow after a 12-hour-long operation was conducted to capture him alive. Saifullah was killed in an exchange of fire with the police. As per reports, Saifullah was a devout member of the Kanpur-Lucknow unit of IS’s Khorasan module.

As per initial reports, Saifullah is believed to have links with the blast that took place in the Bhopal-Ujjain train on Tuesday that left at least 10 people injured. The operation to flush out the slain terrorist from a house in Lucknow was conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), which has claimed that the deceased was an active member of terror group Islamic State. There have been reports that the terror group has been trying to grow its base in India.

“The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation,” IG ATS Aseem Arun said.

#LucknowTerrorOp-File photo of Saifullah alias Ali, ISIS suspected #terrorist gunned down in lucknow by UP ATS #uppolice pic.twitter.com/ZprB2zWzOc

— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) March 8, 2017

The standoff began on Tuesday evening, hours after a blast on Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train. Arun also said that efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist alive, but “unfortunately this did not materialise.” Tear gas shells and chilly bombs were fired so that he comes out but he refused to surrender.

“The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandoes, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandoes. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead,” Arun added.

The low-intensity blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train at Jabri railway station is the first attack by an Islamic State module carried in India. Even Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan confirmed that there is evidence of ISIS role in the attack. “We have proof of the involvement of ISIS,” Chouhan said.