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Updated: Aug 22, 2017 23:02 IST

The Islamic State has said a fighter using the assumed name Abu Yusuf al-Hindi carried out a suicide attack in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the first time the terror group has acknowledged an Indian-origin fighter’s involvement in such an assault.

The “kunya” (nom de guerre) of Abu Yusuf al-Hindi is also used by Mohammad Shafi Armar, who was designated a global terrorist by the US in June and is the main IS recruiter in India. It could not immediately be ascertained whether Armar was the terrorist involved in the suicide attack in Raqqa.

In an Arabic statement issued through its Amaq news agency late on Monday, the IS said Abu Yusuf al-Hindi killed and wounded a “number” of “apostates” from the PPK or Kurdistan Workers Party in the attack, according to SITE Intelligence Group which monitors the online activities of jihadi groups.

There was no official word on the claim from Indian security agencies.

In its statement in June naming Armar as a specially designated global terrorist, the US state department described him as “a leader and head recruiter in India” for the IS. He was the first Indian-origin IS leader to be sanctioned by the US.

“He has cultivated a group of dozens of ISIS sympathisers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps,” the statement said.

Experts who track IS activities expressed doubts about whether the group would use such a high-profile terrorist responsible for recruitment and other activities for carrying out a suicide attack.

But one expert noted that there aren’t too many Indian fighters in the Raqqa area and that the kunya given by IS for the suicide bomber was the same as that of Armar.

Armar, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka who is believed to be about 30 years old, used other aliases such as Chhote Maula and Anjan Bhai. He is also the subject of an Interpol Red Corner notice.

He is believed to have fled to Pakistan with his elder brother Abdul Khader Sultan Armar after a crackdown on members of the Indian Mujahideen. Following a clash with the Bhatkal brothers, the driving force behind the Indian Mujahideen, Armar is believed to have created Ansar-ul-Tawhid, which pledged allegiance to the IS.

Abdul Khader Sultan Armar was reported to have died fighting for the IS at Kobane in Syria in early 2015.

Armar has also been blamed for recruiting for the IS in neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.