India, May 17 -- The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two key absconders allegedly linked to a sleeper cell of the terrorist outfit ISIS at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, officials said on Saturday. The arrests mark a major breakthrough in the agency's ongoing efforts to dismantle ISIS's operations in India.

The suspects, identified as Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh, also known as Diaperwala, and Talha Khan, were intercepted late Friday night by the Bureau of Immigration at Terminal 2 as they attempted to return to India from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they had been in hiding.

According to an official statement from the NIA, the duo were wanted in connection with a 2023 case involving the fabrication ...