Before Delhi Blast, Terrorists Planned Hamas-Like Attack Using Drones

The white collar terror module involved in the Delhi suicide car bomb attack planned to modify drones to weaponise them, and make rockets for use before the November 10 terror strike near the Red Fort, investigators have said.

An attempt of this sort would have parallels with the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023 when it used drones as the main weapon of disruption and destruction.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) discovered this huge threat after it arrested a second terror suspect who worked with the suicide bomber, Umar Un Nabi.

Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish, who is also a resident of Jammu and Kashmir as the first suspect Amir Rashid Ali arrested from Delhi yesterday, was caught in Srinagar by an NIA team.

Danish allegedly provided technical support for carrying out terror attacks by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets ahead of the deadly car bomb blast, the NIA said in a statement.

The terror suspect from Anantnag district worked as an active co-conspirator behind the attack by the white collar module and its suicide bomber, Nabi, the NIA said, adding it is looking at all angles and pursuing multiple leads.

Danish tried to make powerful drones fitted with large batteries that can carry heavier bombs along with cameras, sources told NDTV. He has experience in making small weaponised drones, they said.

The terror module planned to send a weaponised drone over a crowded area for maximum casualties, sources said, adding that groups like Hamas and many in war-torn Syria have used such a tactic.

Many nations these days know that terrorists can use drones. To counter the threat, they have prepared themselves to varying levels depending on their technological capability. India, too, has been strengthening its drone strike and anti-drone units at scale.