IS suspect was ready for suicide hit: NIA

KOCHI: Suspected Islamic State operative Riyas Aboobacker alias Abu Dujana, arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Kasaragod IS module case, was mentally prepared to conduct a suicide attack but was yet to acquire explosives, agency sources said on Tuesday.
They said he was in frequent contact with IS operatives who migrated to Afghanistan and Syria like Abdul Rashid, Ashfaq Majeed and Abdul Khayoom, who prepared him mentally for a suicide attack in the state.The agency is on the lookout for a Kollam resident who is the fourth member of the module.
"He had agreed to conduct the suicide attack but the location was not decided and explosives were not procured," an officer said.
Aboobacker (29) was presented before the special court on Tuesday and remanded in judicial custody till May 29. The NIA has filed a petition seeking his custody for five days, which judge K Sathyan agreed to hear on Monday.
NIA counsel Arjun Ambalapatta submitted before the court that Aboobacker, a resident of Kollengode in Palakkad, was an IS member and was following speeches of Sri Lankan bomber Zahran Hashim and Zakir Naik.