As IB focuses on ISIS, two Kerala youth join al-Nusra

New Delhi, Jan 1: The Indian Intelligence Bureau officials and the police force which has done a commendable job in trapping scores of youth trying to join the ISIS will have another issue to deal with in 2016.

IB officials have confirmed to OneIndia that two youth from Kerala have joined the Jabaat al-Nusra, which is a front for the al-Qaeda in Syria.

The two youth joined the al-Nusra front in October and the process of identifying the two youth from Kerala is still on.

IB officials say this signals that there are still some youth who subscribe to the al-Qaeda's ideology.

The challenge ahead:

With reports of the al-Qaeda setting up a training camp in Afghanistan surfacing the worry ahead for the Indian security agencies has only gone up.

The al-Qaeda which is nurturing a sub-continent dream will target more Indians into their fold. There was already a module that was busted in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha recently which clearly showed that the al-Qaeda meant business in India.

With regard to the two youth from Kerala, it is still unclear whether they joined the group for the money or ideology.

The al-Qaeda's ideology has been relatively different when compared to the ISIS. In Kerala there has always been an inclination towards the al-Qaeda and hence this news of the two youth joining the outfit is even more worrisome, officials point out.

Surveillance to be enhanced:

IB officials who launched Operation Chakravyuh to track and trap ISIS recruits from India will now watch the activities of the al-Qaeda closely too. It appears that the al-Qaeda has taken advantage of the fact while the agencies continue to monitor the ISIS closely, they may just be ignoring the al-Qaeda.

IB officials say that there is a pertinent threat from every foreign group and they will try and recruit from across the world. Both the ISIS and the al-Qaeda will try to show their strength in terms of numbers.

Moreover, both these groups have been nurturing a major plan for the sub-continent and in this context, the recruitments of Indians becomes very pertinent.

OneIndia News