By Abhishek Bhalla
August 1, 2015
Picture for representational purpose
Other than two handlers who are suspected to be from Gujarat, many Indians based in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan are also reportedly trying to lure Muslim youth to join the group.
Some Indian handlers have been identified by intelligence agencies, which have tracked and intercepted youth who had planned to leave for Turkey and then cross over to Syria to join ISIS.
ISIS, the dreaded terror group that has massacred thousands across the globe, has head-hunters in India and among Indians living abroad. They are recruiting young Indian Muslims attracted to the idea of establishing a Caliphate.
Some Indian handlers have been identified by intelligence agencies, which have tracked and intercepted youth who had planned to leave for Turkey and then cross over to Syria to join ISIS.
Few of these youngsters, who had earlier revealed their plans to Mail Today in an exclusive interview, spoke about these handlers. Musaib (name changed) told Mail Today that mostly Indians were in touch with him and his friends. He said they radicalise Muslim youth on cyber space and then facilitate their travel to Syria.
This was confirmed by intelligence officials who were part of the operation that prevented 17 youth from Telangana from joining ISIS over the last one year.
Other than two handlers who are suspected to be from Gujarat, many Indians based in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan are also reportedly trying to lure Muslim youths - mostly in their 20s - to join the group.
The identities of these handlers are known, but their names are being withheld since intelligence agencies are monitoring their movements. Former member of terror group Indian Mujahideen, Sultan Armar Shah, who hails from Bhatkal in Karnataka, was one such handler of Indian origin. Shah reportedly died while fighting for the ISIS .
Sources said it is feared that many IM members, who fled the country following a crackdown, ended up fighting on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border before joining ISIS.
While speaking to Mail Today Musaib from Hyderabad revealed the identities of two people (names withheld) who he was in constant touch with. "My first handler was on Facebook under a pseudonym. His profile said he stays in Mosul, Iraq. He asked me if I was from India. When I said yes, he gave me an Indian number. Initially he was hesitant to reveal his real identity. He asked me 'How I can trust you?' When I finally won his confidence while interacting with him online for weeks, he said he is from Gujarat. After getting his Indian number, I was in regular touch with him," he said.
Musaib added he was later given the number of Sad (name changed), one of the four youths who along with him and two others were intercepted by the agencies from Kolkata when they were trying to cross over to Bangladesh and fly to Turkey to finally reach Syria. Sad is reportedly from Karimnagar in Telangana.
A friend of Musaid - Faid (name changed) - who was planning to join ISIS was in touch with another person from Gujarat (name withheld). Faid also spoke about this common contact. "He was a common contact to all of us. We would get updates on Syria from him and he would send us ISIS videos and convinced us to join," Faid said.
Indian ISIS aspirants for the first time, while interacting with Mail Today, revealed how they were indoctrinated through social media and how they were prevented from reaching Syria. Musaib, Faid, Ayaan and Saifuddin (all names changed) spoke at length about their plans of reaching Syria.
Musaib also revealed the identity of another Indian ISIS handler whose Facebook profile had a Hindu name (name withheld). "His profile said he had converted to Islam. He sent Rs 53,000 from Dubai. Later, he revealed his real identity and told me he is from Bhatkal, Karnataka. We got another Rs 1 Lakh from someone (name withheld) from the UK," he said.
Intelligence officials tracking ISIS-related activities also admitted that involvement of Indians in spotting and radicalising young minds has been noticed. "We face our biggest threat from IM members, who could have joined the ISIS. They are in touch with their contacts in India," the official said.
An IM member based in Afghanistan was a common contact for the Telangana youths, who were intercepted before they could leave India, and also for Shoaib Ahmed and Muddasir Talaha, who are from Maharashtra. Shoaib and Talaha were arrested last year.
The two were attracted to ISIS and wanted to join the group. While the others were not arrested as part of a new strategy to focus on de-radicalisation, the duo was taken to custody since they were also in touch with a Pakistani and had allegedly planned a terror strike in India.
Source: Http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/isis-goes-on-hiring-spree-in-india-headhunters-targeting-youngsters/1/455515.html
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ISIS Terrorists Sneaking Into Europe Along with Asylum Seekers
ISIS Attracts Foreign Fighters, Many Of Whom Are From Europe.
July 26, 2015
Feared Islamic State militants are sneaking into Europe by mingling with boatloads of desperate asylum seekers, putting the European nations at risk of potential terror threats, according to a media report.
"The ISIS killers are among the surge of 1,000 migrants a day braving the perilous five-mile trip from the Turkish coast to the Greek holiday isle of Lesbos," the Mirror reported.
"ISIS can easily send fighters here to get to mainland Greece and on to wherever they want. It's a huge and continuing problem," an island port officer was quoted as saying by the paper.
He said the smugglers put too many people on tiny boats and make lots of money. "The Turkish government needs to stop them coming. We can't stop them once they arrive. We're only a small force and there are 1,000 immigrants arriving here every day. The situation is out of control. We need help," the officer said.
ISIS is an Al-Qaeda splinter group and it has seized hundreds of square miles in Iraq and Syria, and declared the area an Islamic "caliphate".
The ISIS, known for its atrocities and brutality, has attracted thousands of foreign fighters, many from the Europe. According to EU officials, 5,000-6,000 Europeans are fighting with jihadist groups in Syria. Security officials fear the battle-hardened militants will return to their homeland to carry out attacks.
"This is an extremely attractive route for the IS to move people from Syria into Europe," said security expert Colonel Richard Kemp, who has worked for the Government's Joint Intelligence Committee.
"The more people going to Lesbos, the more attractive it is for ISIS as it's much easier to send both individuals and small groups of fighters concealed by large groups of so-called refugees. It’s a big risk which needs to be stopped," the paper quoted him as saying.
The jihadist group has recently carried out a string of deadly attacks in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Tunisia and Yemen. A man recently paraded past Britain's Parliament draped in an ISIS flag with a young girl on his shoulders waving the flag's smaller version, prompting the Scotland Yard to launch a probe.
Spanish police recently arrested a woman on the Canary Islands suspected of recruiting girls and teenagers for the Islamic State group. France this month foiled a "terrorist" plot to capture and decapitate a member of its armed forces.
Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/europe-isis-terrorist-asylum-seekers-sneak-in/1/454194.html
11:18 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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