Long-Awaited arrest of South India blast accused
After more than two decades on the run, two men linked to the banned group Al Ummah were finally arrested in Rayachoti, Andhra Pradesh.
Abu Bakar Siddique (aka Amanullah) and Mohammed Ali (aka Mansoor) are accused of carrying out seven bomb blasts across Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, and Kerala back in 1999.
Both had been living under fake names for years—running businesses and even settling down locally.
Suspects in multiple blasts across South India
During the arrest, police found enough explosives to make about 50 IEDs, along with walkie-talkies, hacking tools, digital devices, maps, religious texts, binoculars, weapons and financial records.
The two are also suspected in a 2013 blast at a BJP office in Bengaluru.
Their capture is seen as a big step against ongoing extremist threats in South India; Al Ummah itself was behind the deadly 1998 Coimbatore bombings.