Airports on Alert Amid Reports Of Return of Indian ISIS Suspects

A high security alert has been issued at airports across India to prevent those who left the nation to join the Islamic State from re-entering the country. There are reports that suspected Indian Islamic State militants may use forged documents to enter the country.

Also read: Kerala’s 21 Now Down to 18: One More Youth Who Joined ISIS Killed

Serious Security Threat

NIA believes that if the ISIS suspects return to India, they might continue to work for the terror outfit in their homeland – a serious security threat.

Also Read: Is Taj Mahal on ISIS’ Radar?

According to reports, Indian embassies in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE have also been told to remain on high alert and to refrain from providing documents to the suspects.

“Reports say European and American citizens in Syria and Iraq have started returning to their respective countries,” The New Indian Express quoted an officer with the Home Ministry as saying.

The report says that in 2015, Subahani Haji, a resident of Thodupuzha, had returned from Syria using a fake passport and had worked as an ISIS agent until the NIA caught him in 2016.

There were earlier reports that three among the 21 missing Kerala youths, Mohammed Hafeezuddin, Bestin Vincent and Murshid, who went to Syria to join the terror outfit, were killed in drone attacks. However, the NIA has not confirmed the deaths yet.

Also read: Youngsters Being Lured to Islamic State Due To Its ‘Inclusivity’

“Till now, we have not received any confirmation from the Afghanistan Government and security agencies about the death of the youths,” an NIA officer told the daily.

He was quoted as saying that it was difficult to access information from IS provinces and that lookout notices have been issued for the missing youths, including the dead.

It was on 21 July 2016 that a number of youths – mostly from the Padanne village of Kasaragod – went missing. The incident came to light when their parents filed a complaint with the police.

(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute)