An ISIS propaganda account, which tweeted about a “car bomb” strike during US President Barack Obama's visit, has been suspended.
The suspected ISIS sympathiser had on January 19 tweeted: “A chemical car bomb will be good idea.”
It is learnt that counter-terror agencies already have the basic details of the account @magnetgas, including the particulars of the time it was created and login frequency besides content. “In such cases, popular websites immediately respond to our queries and share the required information. In many cases, we have obtained details of the suspicious accounts within half-an-hour,” said an official.
According to sources, the proxy server used to mask the IP address has been located to a Central Asian country. “The account in question was already under surveillance,” said an official.
The official said even if the account operator masks the IP address of the communication device, enforcement agencies have the wherewithal to pin down the proxy server that was used for the purpose. “Through cooperation from the service provider and the country where the server is located, we can even track down the device in question and so, the user as well,” he said.
A government official said: “However, at this stage, it does not seem a worthwhile effort to go after someone from whom there is little perceptible threat. The US agencies may, if necessary, pursue the leads further.”
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the account was being operated by one of the four ISIS recruits from Thane in Maharashtra, three of whom are still missing, as the same was earlier used to post message claiming that one of the young men named Saheem Tanki had been killed in a suicide bombing in Syria.
Published - January 24, 2015 11:21 am IST