IS militant from India wants to be rescued

Mumbai, Nov 25: An Indian IS militant from Mumbai who was believed to be dead 3 months ago is alive and wants the Indian government to rescue him out of hiding, told his father to the NIA.

Meeting the NIA, Ejaz Majid said that he received a call from an unidentified number from East Europe. It was his son Areeb who told him that he had fled from the IS stronghold to Turkey after fighting for the group for three months. Now that he did not have any more money he could not return to India all by himself.

Conveyed to the highest level, security agencies are verifying the Nov 20 call.

On May 23, Areeb with three of his engineering friends-Aman Naeem Tandel, Fahad Tanveer Shaikh and Sahim Farooq Tanki-went missing from their hometown and were said to have taken a flight with pilgrims to Iraq.

Radicalised on the Internet, the four joined the IS's campaign. On August 26, Tanki called up Manji to convey that his son had died while fighting for the IS. In fact, Pakistan-based terrorist group Anwar ul Tawhid declared Areeb's martyrdom on its now-defunct website.

Inside sources said that Areeb called up his father, a homeopath, to help him return to India. He wanted either the Indian mission in Ankara or the consulate in Istanbul to seek him out and return to India.

OneIndia News