2022 Coimbatore temple blast: Suicide bomber was inspired by ISIS ideology
Jamesha Mubeen, the suicide bomber behind the October 2022 car blast at a temple in Coimbatore, was inspired by ISIS ideology and sermons of Zahran Hashim, the radical Islamic cleric behind the 2019 Easter blasts in Sri Lanka, and wanted to orchestrate a similar attack against ‘non-believers’ in India. The intended targets of Mubeen, who had taken an oath of allegiance to ISIS, included local temples, government offices, district court and public places like parks and the railway station.
This was stated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a chargesheet filed on Thursday in the Coimbatore blast case against six associates of Mubeen. In October last year, an IED-fitted vehicle driven by Mubeen had blown up in front of an ancient Temple ‘Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil’ at Eswaran Kovil Street, Ukkadam, Coimbatore, killing him.
While the charges against Mubeen are abated upon his death, the six accused — Mohammed Asarutheen, Mohammed Thalha, Firos, Mohammed Riyas, Navas and Afsar Khan – have been charged under various sections of UAPA, IPC and Explosive Substances Act. While Thalha sourced the Maruti 800 car bearing registration number TN-01-F-6163 that served as the blast vehicle, Firos, Riyas and Navas loaded the explosives, gas cylinders, etc. in the car. Asarutheen and Afsar, both cousins of Mubeen procured, weighed, mixed and packed the chemical constituents used to manufacture the vehicle-borne IED.
Investigations had revealed that Mubeen was inspired by ISIS ideology to carry out the Coimbatore suicide attack. He had taken ‘bayath’ or oath of allegiance to its self-proclaimed Caliph Abu-al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.
The handwritten notes recovered from Mubeen’s residence slam the existing democratic system in India for not being “in tandem with Islamic laws” and mention government office buildings, district court, parks and railway station, besides a few other local temples in Coimbatore, as intended “targets”.
A pen drive recovered from Mohammed Asarutheen contained video recordings of Jamesha Mubeen, where he had identified himself as a member of Daulat-e-Islamia (or Islamic State). He had spoken extensively on his intention to commit a suicide terror attack against the ‘kafirs’ (non-believers) and become a martyr. Mubeen, according to the NIA chargesheet, was inspired by the bayans (sermons) of Zahran Hashim, who masterminded the Easter bomb attacks in 2019, killing around 260 people. He wanted to orchestrate a similar kind of attack against the ‘kafirs’ in India.
Islamic State of Khorasan Province’s online magazine ‘Voice of Khorasan’ had owned up the Coimbatore attack in an article titled, ‘A Message to the Inhabitants in the Land Occupied by Cow and Mice-Worshipping Filths’. The article stated that the car blast was a revenge to uphold the honour of their religion and establish Allah’s deen and his law upon his land and to terrorize the ‘kufr’ and its followers with the threat that it was just the beginning, according to NIA.
Source: msn
