A mini Kerala of IS recruits was wiped out in Trump's big Afghan bombing

The United States of America dropped the Mother of all Bombs at Nangarhar in Afghanistan on Thursday and Indian Intelligence agencies suspect that the mini Kerala may have been destroyed. It may be recalled that around 21 Keralites had gone missing last year and as per the intelligence agencies, they had taken shelter in Nangarhar in Afghanistan.

All these persons from Kerala including women were lured in by a handler to be part of the Islamic State module in Afghanistan. The IS was in the process of setting up a Caliphate in Afghanistan and was extensively looking for Indians. An Intelligence Bureau official informed that as per the preliminary information available the missing persons from Kerala were in the same province and may have been a target of the bomb.

This was completely unexpected, but very Trump-like action. One ought to have got a message when he ordered the bombing of a Syrian airbase last week. Indian agencies say that this action by Trump on Thursday will act as a deterrent to those wanting to join the Islamic State. It will not be the same and Trump will live up to his word of finishing the Islamic State, the officer also informed.

Agency officials in India are now digging out more information to find out about the extent of the damage. The US has not officially released any figures, but as per the information available with the Indian agencies, the damage was extensive. "We have information about the presence of Indians in the same area and it would not be wrong to say that they have been a target of the bomb," officials informed.

The 'mini Kerala' in Afghanistan:

For over a year now, the IS has been trying to set up shop in Afghanistan. Several youth from Kerala have come under their radar, and they, in turn, have willingly joined the outfit. Fears regarding the spread of Wahhabism and extremism through radical online Islam had gripped Kerala. The state, which was in denial for long about the rise of Islamic extremism today, has woken up to the problem.

In fact, several Muslim organisations in Kerala have come forward to sort out the problem. OneIndia earlier had reported that on the rise of an IS culture in Kerala

The National Investigation Agency which has been probing these cases says that the trail has led to Afghanistan. Almost all the recruits from Kerala including women have been transported to Nangarhar in Afghanistan.

Each of them was given a manual on how to prepare explosives. For now, it appears that they will function in the Afghanistan module known as the Wilyat Khorasan. However, one cannot rule out the possibility of these people being sent back to India over a period of time to stage attacks, the officer also adds.

It has also been found that the man behind these recruitments is Saeed Abdullah, also from Kerala. He has taken the lead when it comes to setting up the Afghanistan module for the IS. He has only gone for educated recruits, investigations have also shown.

Investigating officers say that the IS has been finding it very easy to recruit from Kerala. There appears to be a change in the mindset among many people in the state which has only made the recruitment process easier.

Moreover, all the recruits from the state had been sent to Afghanistan. This has to do with the proximity to India which the recruits prefer. Many have not been open to the idea of going to Syria or Iraq.

The IS feels that if an attack is to be launched in India, then transporting the cadres from Afghanistan is an easier option when compared to Iraq or Syria.

OneIndia News