Mohsin left for UAE two years ago

A man from Kasaragod in Kerala is said to be one of the three terrorists who stormed a gurdwara in Kabul on March 25 and killed around 25 Sikh worshippers, a senior government official told The Hindu.

The official said at least three terrorists of the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) had attacked the gurdwara. All were killed by Afghan security forces. “We know that at least one of them is an Indian, and the identity of the other two is being ascertained,” the official said.

Also read: India hints at Pakistan hand in Kabul gurdwara attack

The attacker was identified as Abu Khalid Al-Hindi by Al Naba, the ISKP’s propaganda wing. The magazine published a photograph of the Indian attacker. The other aliases used for him were Abdul Khayoom and Abdul Khalid.

The official said the person was identified as Mohsin from Thrikaripur in Kasaragod. He was 29 years old and a school dropout. His family has moved to Kannur. He left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) more than two years ago.

Mohsin’s family did not file police complaint

His family had never reported this to the police, a senior government official told The Hindu.

Also read: UN condemns terrorist attack on Sikhs in Afghanistan

“His family never reported to the police or filed any complaint... They claim he was not in touch with them all these years... We are ascertaining the entire chain of events,” the official said.

The official said the attacker’s movement to Afghanistan was not clear yet. “We know that he left home more than two years ago under the pretext that he was going to the UAE. After that, when and how he reached Afghanistan to join the ISKP [Islamic State in Khorasan Province] is not known. The investigation is on,” the official said. There is no police case registered against Mohsin yet.

Also read: Terror unlimited: On Kabul gurdwara attack

At least two officials confirmed that he was not part of the group of 21 men and women from Kerala that had left India in 2016 in batches to join the ISKP. Mainly comprising defectors from the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP), the ISKP came into existence in 2015.

The official clarified that another engineering student from Kerala also named Mushin was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan in July last year. His family had registered a complaint at the Changaramkulam police station in Malappuram district in October 2017 stating that he was missing. He went to Dubai in 2017 after which he slipped to Afghanistan.

UNSC condemns the terrorist attack

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned “the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack”.

“The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Afghanistan and they wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured. The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” the UNSC said in a statement.

The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of Afghanistan and all other relevant authorities in this regard, UNSC said.