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The IG ATS Aseem Arun confirmed that the slain terror suspect was an active member of the ISIS

A suspected terrorist believed to be part of a group that was planning a major terror attack in Uttar Pradesh was killed early Wednesday morning after nearly 12 hours of anti-terror operation in Lucknow. According to police sources, the target of the operation was a house in Haji Ali Colony in Thakurganj, on the outskirts of Lucknow. The standoff began early Tuesday evening, hours after at least ten people were injured in a blast on the Ujjain Express.

Previously there were reports of two terrorists being holed up in the room, however, as it turned out, only one suspect was found dead along with weapons.

"After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary said that the operation "stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place."

The IG ATS Aseem Arun confirmed that the slain terror suspect was an active member of the ISIS.

"The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation," Arun said. ALSO READ: ATS guns down IS suspect in Lucknow after 11-hour operation

Anti-terror operations were carried out to get hold of terrorists, suspected to be linked with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh yesterday in which at least 10 people were injured, three of them seriously.

Speaking to the media after the anti-terror operation was over, Arun said, "Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out."

Here is all you need to know about the Lucknow siege

ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi 'killed in US-led coalition air strike': reports

ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi 'killed in US-led coalition air strike': reports

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in an air raid in Syria by the US-led coalition, reports said on Monday.

Baghdadi died in an air strike on ISIS's stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria, Iranian state media and pro-government Turkish daily Yenis Safak said, citing ISIS-affiliated Arabic news agency al-Amaq.

The statement published by Amaq said ISIS's 'Caliph' Baghdadi had been killed on Sunday, according to the media reports.

"Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed by coalition airstrikes on Raqqa on the fifth day of Ramadan," said the statement.

The coalition did not immediately comment on the report.

Earlier on Monday, Iraqi TV channel 'Al-Sumaria' said that Baghadi had been wounded on Sunday in a coalition air strike on a location 65 kilometres west of the IS-held city of Mosul. Read more.

Terror being 'incubated' in India's neighbourhood

Terror being 'incubated' in India's neighbourhood

With Pakistan obviously in mind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said terrorism was being “incubated in India’s neighbourhood” and pressed for action without making any distinction against groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba, Taliban and ISIS who share the “same philosophy of hate, murder and killings”.

In his address to the joint sitting of US Congress here, he said terrorism has to be fought with “one voice” as he commended the American Parliament for sending out a clear message by refusing to “reward” those who preach and practice terrorism for political gains, an apparent reference to the blocking of sale of 8 F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.

In the course of his 45-minute speech, he covered all major aspects of the growing relationship between India and the US, particularly strategic ties and civil nuclear cooperation, and emphasised that the two countries should leave “constraints of the past” behind as the “foundations of the future are firmly in place”.

“India lives as one; India grows as one and India celebrates as one,” Modi said. “For my government, the Constitution is its real holy book. And, in that holy book, freedom of faith, speech and franchise, and equality of all citizens, regardless of background, are enshrined as fundamental rights.”

Read more.

6 killed, 20 injured in two bomb attacks in Turkey

Six persons, including two police officers, were killed and 20 others were injured in two bomb attacks in Turkey's Sirnak province on Monday, local media reported.

In the first attack, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants placed explosives under manhole cover and detonated it with remote control while a police vehicle was passing, killing four and injuring 19 people, Xinhua news agency reported.

Two police officers were killed and one other was injured in the second attack by the PKK members in Van province. The bomb was detonated with remote control targeting an armoured police car.Read More

Indian worker in Australia tells court his pro-ISIS post was 'sarcastic'

Indian worker in Australia tells court his pro-ISIS post was 'sarcastic'

An Indian-origin aviation worker in Australia who was sacked last year for posting pro-Islamic State messages on Facebook has told a court that his comments were "sarcastic".

Nirmal Singh was facing the 'Fair Work Commission' to argue that his dismissal was 'unfair' by his previous employer Aerocare and was seeking $7,000 in lost wages.

The Commission heard Singh had written "We All Support ISIS" above a shared post from HT (Hizb ut-Tahrir) Australia about the shooting of police account Curtis Cheng by Islamic youth Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar in Sydney.

There were five posts in total that concerned Aerocare, two of which included pictures of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Under cross-examination by solicitor Stephen Hughes for Aerocare, Singh said he made the posts on Facebook under a different name and believed he was conversing with a "secret group".(more)

EgyptAir hijacker arrested; all hostages free

An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir flight to Cyprus was arrested on Tuesday after hours of negotiations during which most passengers were freed and the last of the seven on board escaped.

The Cyprus foreign ministry announced the arrest of the hijacker, who had taken charge of the Airbus 320 when it was on its way from Alexandria to Cairosaying he was armed with explosives. The plane was flown to Larnaca in southern Cyprus.

Larnaca airport, on the south coast of Cyprus, and officials opened negotiations with the man, who was identified as Seif El Din Mustafa. The man was mistakenly named earlier as Ibrahim Samaha, a passenger.

Hours after the plane landed in Larnaca, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was not linked to terrorism. Officials said the man appeared to be in love with a woman living in Cyprus.

BBC said Flight 181 carried 56 passengers -- 30 Egyptians and 26 foreigners -- and six crew members. Soon after it reached Cyprus, all but seven passengers and crew were let off.

EgyptAirHijack : They quickly boarded buses to reach the terminal. EgyptAir said a special plane will bring them back to Egypt.

The foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons and four Dutch citizens, two Belgians and two Greeks, a French national, an Italian and a Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified.

Before the hijack drama ended, President Anastasiades said Cyprus was doing all it could to ensure the safe release of the passengers and crew.

Asked if the hijacker was motivated by love, he laughed and said: "Always there is a woman involved."

An unidentified civil aviation official in Cyprus was quoted by the media as saying that the man handed negotiators an envelope which he asked to be given to a woman in Cyprus.

Earlier, Egypt's civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said the seven still on board the jet included the pilot, the co-pilot, a female stewardess, a security officer and three passengers whose nationalities were not revealed.

Fathy said negotiations with the hijacker were continuing but it was not clear whether the man indeed had explosives or was lying.

The Egyptian aviation ministry had earlier said the hijacker had threatened to detonate an explosives belt, forcing the captain to divert the flight to Cyprus.

Brussels attacks: Hunt on for three suspects, CCTV footage released

The twin bomb attacks on Brussels airport and a city metro station that rocked the world may have been carried out by two suicide bombers and the police are 'actively looking' for a third attacker, the federal prosecutor said.

"There is a photo of three men taken at Zaventem airportand it is possible that two of them carried out a suicide attack while the third is being actively sought," federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said, after police issued a wanted notice for the man.

#BrusselsAttacks :In a CCTV footage grab, the three suspects of the attack are seen at the Zaventem airport.

Surveillance camera images of the three suspects in the attack were published by the Belgium authorities, reported Belga news agency.

Deconstructing the grainy picture, released by Belgian police at the request of the federal prosecutor, shows three men pushing trollies with suitcases past the check-in area. Two have dark hair and one is wearing a hat.

Authorities have also found an explosive device while conducting the raids in Schaarbeek, a northern suburb of Brussels, the Belgian prosecutor's office has confirmed.

"The searches have led to the discovery of an explosive device containing nails, among other things. The investigators have also discovered chemical products and an Islamic State (IS) flag," The Guardian reported.

Earlier a third bomb was found at the airport and was destroyed by security services.

The Amaq agency, that scoops news directly from ISIS, said that suicide bombers had strapped explosive belts to carry out the attack.

Amaq carried the claim of responsibility and said: “Islamic State fighters opened fire inside Zaventem Airport, before several of them detonated their explosive belts, as a martyrdom bomber detonated his explosive belt in the Maalbeek metro station.”

Public broadcaster VRT said police had found a Kalashnikov assault rifle next to the body of an attacker at the airport.

Such weapons have become a trademark of IS-inspired attacks in Europe, notably in Belgium and France, including on November 13 in Paris.

An unused explosive belt was also found in the area, the public broadcaster said. Police were continuing to scour the airport for any further bombs or attackers.

At least 34 people were killed and some 200 injured in coordinated bomb attacks on Brussels' main airport and the subway. One of the two airport blasts is believed to have been a suicide bombing.