21 IS recruits from Kerala may be launched into India to stage attacks
The persons, hailing from Kasargod and Pallakkad in Kerala had gone missing between June and July 2016, have been traced to an IS camp in Afghanistan
The 21 persons from Kerala who went missing between June and July,and who were suspected to have joined the Islamic State are likely to be launched into India soon. A major breakthrough in this case came on Thursday, with the Intelligence Bureau, with the help of foreign agencies tracking the persons to an IS camp in Jalalabad.
OneIndia was the first to report that these persons were shifted to an IS-run camp at Jalalabad in Afghanistan. IB officials say that these operatives comprising women too are likely to be launched into India after their training is complete. "We are keeping a close watch," says an officer with the IB.
[Also read: 21 missing youth from Kerala traced to IS camp in Afghanistan]
At
first
it
was
believed
that
these
persons
were
being
trained
in
a
bid
to
set
up
a
strong
module
of
the
IS
in
Afghanistan.
However
the
indication
now
is
that
they
are
being
trained
to
launch
attacks
in
India.
Officials
do
not
rule
out
the
possibility
of
more
such
persons
leaving
India
to
train
at
camps
in
Afghanistan.
These
persons
are
either
landing
in
the
Gulf
or
Iran
before
they
make
their
way
into
Afghanistan,
officials
say.
It has also been found that there are operatives from Bangladesh and Maldives who are part of this camp in Jalalabad. "We are working closely with our counterparts in Afghanistan to nab these persons," an Indian official states.
In June 2016, 21 persons from Kerala went missing. They had called their families and said that they had reached their final destination. At first, the Kerala police suspected that they may have joined a the ISIS in Syria. However intelligence that trickled in from Iran indicated the presence of these persons in Afghanistan. Indian agencies then coordinated with their counterparts in Afghanistan and after months of tracking it was found that they were settled in a camp in Jalalabad.