India needs to be mindful of 'Do it Yourself' terrorists: Home Minister Rajnath Singh

JAIPUR: After alerting the country against against 'lone wolf attacks', Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today underlined the threat posed by the 'Do it Yourself' breed of terrorists who gain information in bomb-making and suicide attacks over the internet to perpetrate terror acts.

"Exploiting the power of internet and ideological motivation, terror groups like DAESH and al Qaeda have already flooded the internet with literature pertaining to bomb making and suicide attacks which present a risk of emergence of 'DIY' (Do it Yourself) terrorists.

"India also needs to be mindful of this possibility," Singh said while addressing the second edition of counter-terrorism conference organised by the India Foundation in collaboration with government of Rajasthan here.

He said the prowling illegal information and activities in the cyberspace was also acting as an "enabler" for 'Lone Wolf attacks' across the globe.

A lone wolf terrorist is one who indulges in violence in support of some group, movement or ideology but works alone, outside of any command structure and without material assistance from any group.

He also urged the security establishment and those associated with it to use the word DAESH while identifying the acts and terrorists of the ISIS.

"It is a cause of grave concern that the cyber world is being exploited by terror groups such as DAESH or ISIS to radicalise the gullible youth of our country. Since, many security experts and intellectuals are present here, I appeal to all of you to use the word DAESH to mention ISIS in future because this terror organisation is seeking legitimacy through the word 'Islamic State'," he said.

DAESH is an acronym for the Arabic phrase al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) but the terror group shuns using this name to identify itself.

The Home Minister said India has undertaken multiple steps and strategies to combat against the radicalisation of its youth by this terrorist ideology.

"We have adopted a multi-pronged strategy against the attempts to radicalise the youth of the country. On the one hand we have successfully de-radicalised our youth and on the other hand our security agencies have also taken action against certain individuals for their links and association with terror organisations.