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KOZHIKODE: The fall of Islamic State (IS) in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq and the death of many IS cadres have not deterred Malayalis from joining the terror group.

It has been revealed that a Malayali couple — Sunayil Fewas and his wife Sameena — working in the UAE along with their three children have joined the IS in January 2019. Both are engineering graduates from a college in Malappuram and have studied in the same class, sources said. The couple, hailing from Valanchery in Malappuram, travelled from the UAE to Tehran in Iran before moving to Nangarhar province , which is controlled by the IS, in Afghanistan .

Sources said that the girl, whose family resides at Kuttiady in Kozhikode, was not a very religious person before marriage. It is not known how both got radicalised.

Two families and a bachelor from Kannur had joined the Islamic State in Afghanistan in the same period. Among them, Anwar, who migrated with his wife and three kids, is believed to have been killed shortly after his arrival in Afghanistan. There is no information about Sajid, his wife and two kids and Nisamudeen who joined the terror group along with the families.

Almost half of those who went to Afghanistan from Kasargod and Palakkad in 2016 are believed to have been killed in bombings by the US forces. This include Shajeer Mangalassery Abdulla, Hafeesudeen, Marwan, Murshid, Rashid Abdulla and Yahya. Former activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) from Kannur who joined the IS in Syria, including Shameer, Shajil, Abdul Qayoom and Manaf are also suspected to have been killed.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that one Firos from Kasaragod, who is currently in Syria, has expressed his desire to surrender and come back to Kerala. Sources said that he had contacted some of his relatives two months ago to know about what cases could be filed against him if he returns to Kerala. It is learnt that only two or three Malayalis are left in Syria and they are finding it hard to cope with the situation after the IS lost its areas. But those in Afghanistan are trying to portray a rosy picture of the life under the ‘Islamic Khalifate’. The messages sent by a Malayali from Kasaragod said that life is normal in the Nangarhar province except intermittent bombing by the US forces in some areas.

“There is everything here including school, hospital, medical stores and land for cultivation. The Eid celebration here is as in our country. We have good food and new dresses. On Eid, we go to masjids with weapon in our hands. We go for fighting when the ‘call of jihad’ comes. Some become ‘shaheed’ (martyr), some get injured and some return in normal state,” the message said.

