This follows the questioning of five people who were arrested from the district in the past few days.

The Kerala police on Saturday confirmed the death of five persons, who had allegedly gone from Kannur to Syria and joined the Islamic State, based on the questioning of five suspected IS operatives, arrested here a few days ago, and earlier statements from relatives.

The police released the pictures of Shahanad, 25, of Chalad; Rishal, 30, of Valapattanam; T.V. Shameer, 45, of Pappinissery; his son Salman, 20, and Muhammad Shajir, 25, of Mundery, who had gone to Syria.

“For the police to confirm a death, there should be either a post-mortem report or the death certificate or any other evidence to support it,” Kannur Deputy Superintendent of Police P.P. Sadanandan told The Hindu.

However, as such evidence is not possible given the war-like situation in Syria, 100% confirmation is not possible, he said.

Except the relatives of Rishal, the kin of the others have already received information on their deaths, the police said.

“We came to know about the death of five men from the district through their relatives. We are trying to confirm news about their death,” Mr. Sadanandan said.

“The news about the death of one of them, Muhammed Shajil, 25, was conveyed by his wife in a foreign country, to his uncle. The wife of another Rishad disclosed information about his death to her mother,” he added.

“Similarly, news about the death of the other three, Shahanad, 25, Shameer, 45, and his elder son Salman, 20, were also received by their relatives from their kin in various places,” the DSP said. “They had died at various periods of time between 2014 and 2017,” he said when asked about the time of their deaths.

Last month, a WhatsApp voice message sent by Shajir’s wife Hafziya from Syria to his relatives had informed that Shajir became a shaheed (martyr). According to the information, he died of bullet injuries in his leg. Hafziya is believed to be staying on in Syria with two small children.

(With inputs from PTI)