IS Khorasan Chief Mawlawi Abdullah Arrested in Afghanistan; Linked to Pakistan's Haqqani Network, Plotted Kabul Gurdwara Attack
Farooq, who also goes by the name of Mawlawi Abdullah, was appointed at the helm of ISKP in April 2019. The Islamic State, then led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, had decided to replace former emir of its Khorasan group - Abu Omar Khorasani - with Farooq. As per the reports, Farooq is a member of Mamozai tribe and resided largely in the Orakzai agency area on Pak-Afghan border.
Kabul, April 4: Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) chief Mawlawi Abdullah aka Aslam Farooq was arrested in Afghanistan, the country's intelligence agency confirmed on Saturday. The dreaded terrorist is charged of plotting the terror attack at Kabul's prominent gurudwara that left 27 Sikhs dead. Farooq is also accused of being linked to the Pakistan's deep state, including the Inter-State Intelligence (ISI).
Sources linked to Afghan Intel Agency National Directorate of Security (NDS) confirmed the arrest of Farooq. An internal statement has been issued by the intel body, informing the Ashraf Ghani government of his links to the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network and Lashkar-e-Taiba. The two terror outfits are accused of executing insurgent attacks in Afghanistan and India, respectively.
Update by ANI
Farooq, who also goes by the name of Mawlawi Abdullah, was appointed at the helm of ISKP in April 2019. The Islamic State (ISIS), then led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, had decided to replace former emir of its Khorasan group - Abu Omar Khorasani - with Farooq. As per the reports, Farooq is a member of Mamozai tribe and resided largely in the Orakzai agency area on Pak-Afghan border.
The Khorasan faction of the ISIS, which is led by Farooq, is accused of attempting to derail the peace process between the Taliban and the US-Afghan government. The group had recently upped its militancy activities following the historic peace deal which was inked between the US and the Taliban.
The ISKP has called upon the Taliban cadres to abandon the latter and join them. In a release issued via the Al-Amaq news agency, the ISIS appealed the militants in Afghanistan to rebel against the Taliban for "joining hands" with the US. The group had recently executed the ghastly attack at the gurdwara at Shor Bazar in Kabul.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2020 08:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).