IS recruit’s SOS to family: Help me return home

TNN

New Delhi, 10 Oct 2015: A 28-year-old youth from Azamgarh in UP, who went to Syria about six months back to join the Islamic State, recently called his family from Raqqa and asked his parents to help him come back home. The young IS recruit is said to be scared of dying in air strikes and has been frantically calling his family members to facilitate his return to India.

 

"He is also frustrated with the activities of IS and desperately wants to come back," said an intelligence officer.

 

The youth was recruited by the Islamic State and sent to Syria about six months back via Turkey by a Dubai-based operative of the militant outfit. However, his family didn’t know about his whereabouts for the past six months and approached the security agencies after receiving his call.

 

Initial investigations and interaction with his family revealed that the youth also fell sick in Raqqa, where he is presently involved in logistics-related work for Islamic State. "He made several calls to his home in the last few days from different numbers and expressed that he is stuck there. He clearly told his parents that he wants to come back," said an official.

 

The intelligence agencies are making efforts to bring him back. In Lucknow, ADG (law and order) Daljit Singh Chowdhary said the state police is coordinating with intelligence agencies in Delhi. "Only on Saturday I would be able to divulge name of the youth and other details," said Chowdhary.

 

The Dubai-based IS operative had found the Azamgarh youth surfing about the the militant outfit. Later the Class XII passout, son an artisan, decided to go to Syria. He arranged money for his flight to Turkey from where he went to Syria.

 

The youth is considered to be the first person from Uttar Pradesh to join IS directly without having contact with any terrorist organisation and without any criminal past. Officials said the youth has no links with the Indian Mujahideen members who are fighting for IS in Iraq and Syria.

 

Officials said the Azamgarh youth is the 20th Indian so far to have travelled to Iraq and Syria after being radicalised. About six of them have already been killed, including three Indian Mujahideen terrorists, two youth from Maharashtra and one from Telangana.

 

Kalyan-based Areeb Majeed had returned last year after he got fed up with the activities of IS. On September 15, UAE deported four Indians suspected to have links with IS. About a fortnight ago, UAE sent back a 37-year- old woman, Afsha Jabeen alias Nicky Joseph, who was allegedly involved in recruiting youths for IS.

 

Earlier in January, Salman Mohiuddin of Hyderabad was arrested when he was preparing to board a flight to Dubai on way to Syria.

 

So far, 17 youths, mostly from Telangana, have been prevented from travelling to Syria to join IS.