lSIS-Khorasan attempted Suicide Attack in India in 2018: Top US Official

The Khorasan group of the ISIS or the ISIS-K, which specifically operates in south Asia, attempted a suicide attack in India 2018, a top American official has informed lawmakers.

"Of all of the branches and networks of ISIS, ISIS-K is certainly one of those of most concern-probably in the neighbourhood of 4000 individuals or so. We certainly share the concerns of both the US military and embassy. They have attempted to certainly inspire attacks outside of Afghstan," Russel Travers, Acting Director of the US National Counter-terrorism Center, Office of Director of National Intelligence, said on Tuesday.

"They attempted last year to conduct a suicide attack in India--it failed," Travers said in response to Senator Maggie Hassan over the group's ability to carry out terrorist attacks in the region.

"I heard clearly that ISIS-K threatens not only US forces in Afghstan, but also has designs on striking the US homeland," she said in a video posted on her official Twitter page while mentioning about her travel to Afghstan and Pakistan last month.

Last week, Hassan said, there were more than 20 ISIS branches globally, some of which are using sophisticated technology, such as drones, to conduct operations.

"We know that ISIS-K and other affiliates of ISIS want to strike the US homeland," the Senator added.

Despite, the United States' key victories against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the terror outfit remains a threat to America.

Meanwhile, Travers, in his response emphasized that the ISIS-K had a couple of years ago tried to inspire an attack in New York which the FBI interrupted. Then there was an attack in Stockholm in 2017 that killed five people, he added.

"So they certainly have got a desire and the propaganda would indicate that they want to conduct attacks outside of Afghstan. I would say that we saw attack claims by ISIS-K ramping up throughout '16, '17, '18. Somewhat lower at the beginning of this year, although now I think we're looking at about an attack a day or so," the counter-terrorism official said.

( With inputs from ANI )