NEW DELHI: The Islamic State-Khorasan Province has claimed that Thursday’s suicide attack on a Sikh gurdwara in Kabul , which killed 25 people, was carried out by one of its Indian recruits, who has now been identified as Muhammad Muhsin from Kasaragod, Kerala .

Muhsin, sources in Indian agencies said, was named in the IS message as Abu Khalid al-Hindi — which also claimed the bombing as an act of revenge for Kashmiri Muslims — but his real identity was confirmed based on his photograph released by Al-Amaq News, a pro-IS media outlet. The picture showed him brandishing a gun and surrounded by ammunition, with an IS flag for the background.

Sources said the NIA on Friday corroborated Muhsin’s identity by getting in touch with his family in Kasaragod. More details are expected after further probe. There was no clarity on whether a case would be filed.

Initial probe showed that Muhsin did not figure in any of the existing cases being probed by the NIA, relating to those from Kerala who have travelled out of the country so far to join IS.

Sources said Muhsin’s last known location was the UAE, where he had travelled to from India in July 2018. “It is not known how and when he travelled further to reach Afghanistan. A school dropout aged 28-29 years, Muhsin — given the ‘kunya’ name Abu Khalid al-Hindi — was allegedly one of the three suspected attackers involved in the Kabul gurdwara bombing. “Neither was Muhsin on the NIA radar nor had his parents approached the police/NIA to report him as ‘missing’,” an official told TOI.

Islamic State-Khorasan Province, in its message published on March 25, said the Indian fighter Abu Khalid al-Hindi fired upon “Sikh polytheists” in their temple in Kabul, and detonated explosive devices on Afghan security forces. The group said, “This attack comes as revenge for the Muslims in Kashmir , and what is coming is more devastating and bitter, with permission from Allah the Almighty.”

