Kerala Police Says About 100 Keralites Are Suspected To Have Joined The Islamic State 

Around 100 Keralites are suspected to have joined the Islamic State over the years, police said in Kannur today (11 November).

The Kerala Police has collected evidence, including over 300 voice clips and messages from WhatsApp, Telegram and other social media platforms.

The latest bit of evidence is an audio clip from a woman, wherein she can be heard informing her kin here about the death of her husband, who had joined the terrorist organisation.

The woman can be heard saying her husband Shajil was killed recently in ‘jihadi war’. According to the audio clip, she and her two children are still in Syria. The woman is also heard telling her kin that many Keralite women – who have lost their husbands – and their children are in Syria.

The voice clip was received by Shajil’s brother.

Police have another audio clip from one Qayoom, whose photos in the ISIS uniform are available on the Internet.

Three men with suspected links with ISIS were arrested in the district on 25 October.

According to the police, the trio, who had left Kerala years ago, were suspected to have visited Syria and reportedly received training from the terror outfit.

Police had also seized photocopies of tickets and visa, proving that they visited Syria. The arrested were identified as Mithilaj, Abdul Razzak and Rashid, all of whom belonged to the Kannur district.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing cases of disappearance of at least 21 people who had left Kerala under mysterious circumstances over a period of time and are suspected to have joined ISIS.

Among them, 17 are from Kasaragod and four from Palakkad. They include four women and three children. PTI