A suicide squad of 10 has been assigned the task of carrying out blasts in Kerala by the Islamic State. It was disclosed during the interrogation of Riyas Abubeckar arrested from Palakkad in connection with the blasts in Sri Lanka, according to media reports.
However, the state government and police are yet to acknowledge the threat posed by IS even as the squad members were plotting a series of spectacular suicide blasts to “kill kafirs”. The mainstream media in the state is also in denial mode.
Kerala, according to investigators, has become a hub of Islamic terror. Besides Sri Lankan terrorists, Kashmiri extremists have also found refuge in Kerala. According to a report, Kashimiri terrorists used to frequent Kerala’s northern districts.
Riyas told interrogators that some radical Muslim youths have been getting training from Kashmiri terrorists in bomb-making. Searches are on to trace them. Military Intelligence is also on a searching spree to nab terrorists. Abdul Rasheed, IS recruiter, who fled Kasaragod for joining IS, had sent voice messages through WhatsApp to IS cadres in Kerala to undertake jihad in Kerala. “Kill maximum kafirs” he told them. The message promises necessary assistance for those who are ready for jihad.
The National Investigative Agency has collected 70 telegram messages from arrested radicals. Encouraged by Abdul Rashid, the sleeper IS cell in Kerala gave shape to a 10-member suicide squad, including Riyas.
According to interrogators, the IS members were in constant touch with other jihadi elements and outfits like Popular Front and SDPI.
The radical elements in the state provide all kinds of assistance to Kashmiri terrorists. They obtain SIM cards using forged documents. Lack of essential information with the police regarding migrant labour turns out to be a stumbling block in the way of the probe.
Most of the Kashmiris in Kerala are concentrated in Fort Kochi. NIA and IB have launched strong surveillance in Perumbavoor (Ernakulam district) and Kollam, Palakkad, Kozhikkode, Malappuram and Kannur districts. They have also visited the shopping centres run by Kashmiris in Fort Kochi.
Meanwhile, reports from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, suggest that two men arrested in that country in connection with the Sri Lanka blasts have links with Kerala. Moulana Rila, the brother-in-law of Sahran Hashim, the mastermind behind the Sri Lankan blasts and his friend Shahnavaz had involvement in the IS recruitments in Kasaragod, an NIA official said. It is also reported that they had links with Riyas.
Earlier twenty persons from Kerala had joined IS. One of them was Shibi Kunnath Thotika who was killed in 2017 in Afghanistan. He had links with Riyas too. Now, IS recruitment is being carried out by Firoz Khan, a Thrikkarippoor native. Three more Keralites have been added recruited to IS. They are Mohamed Faisal (29) living in Qatar, P.A. Abubaker Sadiq and Ahmed Arafat.
Now, Mohamed Faisal, a Kollam native, has been arrested in Kochi International Airport when he returned from Qatar. He is one among the IS team members which plotted blasts in Kerala. He has links with some extremist outfits in Kerala.
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