Al-Qaeda operative admits link with Kandahar hijack terrorists

Al-Qaeda Indian sub-continent (AQIS) operative Mohammed Abdur Rehman has admitted his links with the terrorists involved in the 1999 Kandahar plane hijack and 2002 American Centre blast incident in Kolkata, a senior police official said on Thursday.

Rehman had provided safe shelter in Cuttack to a Pakistani terrorist involved in the Kandahar plane hijack. The said terrorist belonged to Pak-based Harkat-ul-Mujahideen group that hijacked the Delhi-bound Air India flight IC-184 from Kathamandu to Kandahar, said an official of the Special Task Force of Crime Branch of Odisha Police.

The hijackers had demanded release of Azhar Masood in order to release the passengers of the plane.“As one of the terrorists involved in the hijack was close to Rehman, he brought him to Cuttack and kept him in a secret location,” the officer said quoting the AQIS operative, who is being interrogated by the STF.

Though Rehman, who has been brought on a 10-day remand by Odisha Police, initially refused to admit his links with terror outfits, he opened up as soon as evidence collected by NIA and IB were placed before him, the officer said.

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