New Delhi, April 18 -- The Delhi Police Special Cell (NDR team) on Saturday arrested four radicalised youths from Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar in an intelligence-led operation for allegedly preparing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), radicalising recruits online and planning terror strikes at high-value locations across the country, officials said.

According to police, the accused were influenced by extremist ideology related to establishing a caliphate and believed in the emergence of a "lashkar from Khurasan" carrying black flags. They were allegedly preparing themselves to participate in "Ghazwa-e-Hind" while also radicalising and recruiting others through encrypted social media groups.

Material used for preparation of an IED was...