Afghanistan NDS arrest two aides of Kabul Gurudwara attack mastermind Aslam Farooqui

New Delhi: The special forces of National Directorate of Security of Afghanistan has arrested two aides of Islamic State Khorasan Province chief Aslam Farooqui, the mastermind of Kabul Gurudwara attack. The accused have been identified as Tanweer, a Bangladeshi national and Ali Mohammad, a Pakistani citinzen. 

According to NDS, Tanweer is a finance expert while Ali Mohammad is a logistics and fundraising expert.

Earlier on April 4, Farooqui, along with 20 others, was arrested on charges of planning the Kabul Gurdwara attack. The ISKP had claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 27 Sikhs and injured eight others, on the gurdwara at the Shor Bazaar area in the Afghan capital on March 25. The barbaric attack was condemned by India and the US.

Farooqui, a Pakistani national, was earlier associated with proscribed Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Tehreek-e-Taliban terror outfits. 

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had registered a case against the ISKP on Kabul Gurudwara attack, making it the first case registered for terror activity outside India.

During the interrogation, he admitted his links with Pakistani spy agency ISI and other terrorist networks, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Haqqani Network.
 
Officials tracking Kerala's ISIS module believe that the terrorist attack on Kabul's Gurudwara was carried out by the Haqqani Network with Lashkar-e-Taiba from Pakistan. Haqqani network has the capability to launch such an attack inside high-security zone of Kabul.  

Officials believe that the Kabul Gurudwara attack is a deliberate attempt to throw dust in the eyes of the world that ISKP is behind the attack. Earlier, it was found that ISKP claimed the attacks where the Haqqani network was originally involved. Pakistan is reportedly promoting ISKP and other groups as a check on the Taliban.