Explosives from e-commerce: Global terror watchdog says material for Pulwama terror attack sourced from Amazon
PTC News Desk: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has made shocking revelations about the deadly 2019 Pulwama attack which claimed lives of 40 CRPF personnel and 2022 Gorakhnath Temple incident. The agency has flagged alarming concerns over the components used in the terror attack as they were sourced from e-commerce Amazon.
The report highlighted that in the 2019 Pulawama attack, aluminium powder-a key component required to enhance the explosive power of improvised explosive devices (IEDs)-was sourced through an e-commerce platform like Amazon.
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel. Investigators found that online platforms had played a role in the logistics and preparation of the attack.
In another FATF's detailed report analysing April 2022 Gorakhnath Temple incident where an ISIS-inspired individual attacked security personnel, it has come to fore that the accused had transferred approximately Rs 6.7 lakh overseas using PayPal to support Islamic State (ISIL) operatives.
He used multiple locations to mask his location and attempted 44 international transactions. The payments were also made to VPN providers from his Indian bank account.
In its ‘Comprehensive Update on Terrorist Financing Risks’, the FATF also flagged ‘state sponsorship of terrorism’ and said a variety of publicly available sources of information and delegations’ inputs to this report indicate that “certain terrorist organisations have been and continue to receive financial and other forms of support from several national governments”.
“Delegations reported on this trend by referring to the use of state sponsorship for TF (terror financing) either as fundraising technique or as part of the financial management strategy of the certain organisations engaging in terrorist acts. Several forms of support have been reported, including direct financial support, logistical and material support, or the provision of training,” the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)said.
- With inputs from agencies
