Doubts over death of Kerala IS operative in drone strike

Hafeezuddin, 26, a native of Padanna in Kerala was among the 17 persons from the state to have joined the IS in Afghanistan.

Padanna, Feb 28: Two days after it was claimed that Hafeezuddin, the Kerala youth suspected to have joined the Islamic State had died, the police are still verifying the details. The National Investigation Agency and the Intelligence Bureau are trying to get more details on the incident. An Intelligence Bureau official however said that the death of the alleged recruit is more of less confirmed.

Hafeezuddin, 26, a native of Padanna in Kerala was among the 17 persons from the state to have joined the IS in Afghanistan. On Sunday, some of his family members had said that they had received a call stating that he had been killed in a drone strike.

On Sunday, several family friends and relatives visited the residence of Hafeezuddin to offer condolences. The local police however say that they have not got any official confirmation of the news. The police are looking into a photograph of circulating on WhatsApp which shows Hafeezuddin lying dead on the ground.

While the news of his death is being ascertained, there are officials who also do not rule out that such news can be circulated to make a martyr out of a person. In most cases it works as a recruiting tool, officials say.

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