In a joint operation by Hyderabad Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), 11 youths were picked up from different localities of Hyderabad for their suspected links with the international terrorist organisation ISIS.

However, NIA sources said that only four of those picked up were likely to be arrested formally, as some incriminating material, including explosive were recovered from their homes.

They were identified as Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani, a software engineer, Mohammed Haseeb, Abdullah Bin Ahmad, and Mohammed Irfan. Yazdani's brother Ilyas was also picked up, but he was not part of the suspected module.

NIA Inspector General Sanjeev Kumar said that the searches were carried out at ten locations in Hyderabad after midnight, following the registration of an FIR on June 22.

In the raids carried out around midnight in the old Hyderabad areas of Chandrayangutta, Talabkatta , Mirchowk, Bhavaninagar and Moghulpura, cops found ammonium nitrate and hydrogen peroxide, which can be used for manufacturing explosives at the house of one Fahad. They also recovered pistols of prohibited bore ammunition and some training material.

NIA sources said that other youths picked up were their friends and will be released after questioning, as they did not appear to have played any major role in the activities of the four. The NIA has not officially declared anybody as arrested and the detained youth were being questioned.

NIA acted after monitoring the online activities of the four, who were in touch with others on social media and there were indications that they had planned to produce explosives and carry out series of blasts in the city. They had also identified some religious places to target and did some target practice with air guns, the sources said. The search parties also seized Rs15 lakh worth fake currency and some other incriminating documents from them.

Police sources said that the module was in touch with some ISIS handlers abroad through social media, including Facebook.

"They had planned to trigger blasts at busy places, including Malls and a Government building and also planned to target some individuals", police source said. "For that purpose they had procured some small arms and were trying to procure more weapons to create chaos in the city". The module had carried out reconnaissance of some of the places, which they wanted to target, the sources said.

“This is the second time that a group of youth interested in joining ISIS, was caught in Hyderabad. Three months ago two youth were arrested when they tried to flee the country to join the ISIS ranks.

Meanwhile the parents of the youth gathered at the office of the NIA at the Begumpet in the afternoon, demanding to know where their wards were kept. They asked the officials to produce the boys before them.

NIA sources said that those arrested will be produced before the court later this evening.