Why we must worry about these Kerala ISIS operatives returning to India

P P Sadanandan, Kannur deputy superintendent of police, said the arrested men had lived in Istanbul for four months.

The past couple of days has seen a surge in the number of arrests relating to the Islamic State. In all five persons have been arrested from Kerala on two different days for their links with the global terror organisation. In Gujarat two persons were arrested and it was alleged that they were planning to strike ahead of the elections.

While these arrests would provide the agencies a mine of information, what one also must bear in mind especially in the Kerala related case is these persons were deported to India.

It is a well known fact that the ISIS is facing heavy losses in its strongholds of Syria and Iraq. There are around 100 suspected ISIS fighters from India in these countries. The ISIS has already started to tell their fighters to return to their mother land and stage attacks.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that such returns need to be monitored. The ISIS is losing territory in all its strongholds and is asking the fighters to return to their home land and strike.

In the midst of this ISIS directive, the IB has directed that a close watch be kept on airports and ports as well borders. We have seen that pattern in France and Britain when ISIS fighters have returned to their home country and carried out attacks. We do not rule out a similar ploy here as well, the IB officer said.

Counter-terrorism officials say that the ISIS is in a desperate mode. Their plans in India have failed several times. This would be one more attempt they would make to ensure the return of their Indian fighters. Moreover unlike those operatives in India, these persons who are coming back are well trained and attack ready. Hence the alert levels must be high at all times, the official also added.

P P Sadanandan, Kannur deputy superintendent of police, said the arrested men had lived in Istanbul for four months.

Police sources said that even after the arrests, "claims" had surfaced in jihadi propaganda groups on social media that another unit was actively pursuing the plan.

OneIndia News