Orlando terror- India should never take Islamic radicals off the radar

The ISIS was quick to claim responsibility for the horrific terror attack at the Orlando nightclub in which 50 people were killed and 53 injured.

The American President has called it both an act of terror as well a hate crime. The gunman who has been identified as Omar Mateen, a Florida resident and a US born son of an Afghan immigrant.

The FBI which is not yet ready to term it as an attack by the ISIS had however known the shooter. He had in fact come to the FBI's attention twice but was left off as the agency was unable to verify his terror links or comments he made in favour of the ISIS. Mateen had on several occasions indicated his leanings towards the ISIS.

A lesson to be learnt:

In the Orlando shooting there is a big lesson that the world needs to be learn. A person who has shown leanings towards terror outfits such as the ISIS can never be taken off the radar. India too has faced similar situations where radical Muslim youth have shown their leanings towards the ISIS.

Although many have been counselled, the return rate can be extremely high. Senior Intelligence Bureau officials say that they never take such youth off the radar.

Although during an investigation, their crimes may not be established that does not mean they are taken off the radar. There are many who pretend to be counselled, but more often than not, they do attempt returning to the fold of the ISIS, the officer also said.

No pointing in toning down:

Although the FBI has not yet termed it as an act of Islamic terror, the fact is that the writing was on the wall. Mateen was under the radar of the FBI in 2013 and 2014.

In 2013, he had made inflammatory comments about his terrorist ties to his co-workers. In 2014 he was questioned for possible ties with Moner Mohammad a Florida resident who was also the first US citizen to carry out a suicide bombing in Syria.

On both occasions he was questioned and let off on the ground that there was no substantial evidence against him. What is worse is that on the day of the shooting he had made a call to 911 and declared his loyalty to the ISIS. The other shocker is that despite all this he had managed to obtain a gun licence.

There is everything in this case to show that he was a Islamic radical. It appeared that he had been planning a major strike in the name of the ISIS and finally took advantage that he was off the radar.

Donald Trump the Republican candidate for US president was the most vocal when he called it an act of Islamic Terror. The rest were toned down in their statements, but the point is that there is no point in living in denial as the threat of Islamic terrorism is real.