‘Of 11 Indians in ISIS, 6 were from Gulf’

NEW DELHI: Despite its vigorous efforts to recruit from India, the Islamic State has failed to find any traction among the Muslim youth in India, according to a latest report by Indian intelligence agencies on the terror outfit. Of the 11 youths of Indian origin who joined the outfit, six were from Gulf countries holding different passports. Only five were resident Indians. 

The report, accessed by TOI, says five of the 11 youths have been killed, including two who joined from India. The Indian youths have been identified as Shaheen Tanki from Kalyan and Faiz Masood from Bengaluru. The other three who joined the outfit from India are Arif Majeed, Aman Naeem Tandel and Fahad Tanvir Shaikh, all from Kalyan. 

Majeed returned to India last year and was recently charge-sheeted by the National Investigation Agency. The whereabouts of the other youths of Indian origin are not known. 

Sources said these 11 youths were radicalized, recruited and trained by Islamic State after which they were sent to fight in Iraq and Syria. Officials said the figure was "not alarming" as six of them were of Indian origin. 

According to the report, "no Indian has joined ISIS in last six months". 

"After reports that ISIS had recruited these 11 men, there was swift action by different agencies. Several young boys in many states were tracked and some were questioned too. Despite its attempts, the extremist group has lost its appeal. There has been no recruitment and no Indian has travelled to the region in six months. The activities on social networking sites are continuously monitored and immediate action is taken if something suspicious is noticed," said an intelligence official. 

The arrest of a module with alleged links with Islamic State in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, was result of the surveillance. The IB and Madhya Pradesh police had arrested five men - Imran Khan, Waseem, Rizwan, Anwar Qureshi and Mazhar — after it was learnt that the module was being persuaded by Syria-based handlers to target BJP and RSS leaders, apart from police officers. 

Source http://m.timesofindia.com/india/Of-11-Indians-in-ISIS-6-were-from-Gulf/articleshow/47521742.cms