21 IS recruits from Kerala may be launched into India to stage attacks

India

oi-Vicky

The 21 persons from Kerala who went missing between June and July,and who were suspected to have joined the Islamic State are likely to be launched into India soon. A major breakthrough in this case came on Thursday, with the Intelligence Bureau, with the help of foreign agencies tracking the persons to an IS camp in Jalalabad.

OneIndia was the first to report that these persons were shifted to an IS-run camp at Jalalabad in Afghanistan. IB officials say that these operatives comprising women too are likely to be launched into India after their training is complete. "We are keeping a close watch," says an officer with the IB.

[Also read: 21 missing youth from Kerala traced to IS camp in Afghanistan]

At first it was believed that these persons were being trained in a bid to set up a strong module of the IS in Afghanistan. However the indication now is that they are being trained to launch attacks in India.

Officials do not rule out the possibility of more such persons leaving India to train at camps in Afghanistan. These persons are either landing in the Gulf or Iran before they make their way into Afghanistan, officials say.

It has also been found that there are operatives from Bangladesh and Maldives who are part of this camp in Jalalabad. "We are working closely with our counterparts in Afghanistan to nab these persons," an Indian official states.

In June 2016, 21 persons from Kerala went missing. They had called their families and said that they had reached their final destination. At first, the Kerala police suspected that they may have joined a the ISIS in Syria. However intelligence that trickled in from Iran indicated the presence of these persons in Afghanistan. Indian agencies then coordinated with their counterparts in Afghanistan and after months of tracking it was found that they were settled in a camp in Jalalabad.