In the wake of diminishing Islamic State influence in Iraq and Syria, a high security alert has been issued at airports across India to prevent the return of Indian IS suspects.
There are reports that those who left the country to join ISIS might return using forged documents.
NIA believes that if the IS suspects return to India, they might continue to work for IS in their homeland posing a security threat the country.
As per reports, apart from the airports, Indian embassies in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE have been told to remain on high alert and to not provide the suspects any documents.
“Reports say European and American citizens in Syria and Iraq have started returning to their respective countries,” The New Indian Express quotes an officer with the Home Ministry as saying.
The report says that in 2015, a Thodupuzha native Subahani Haji, had returned from Syria using a fake passport and had worked as an IS agent until 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 IS, were killed in drone attacks. However, NIA has not yet confirmed the death of the youths.
“Till now, we have not received any confirmation from the Afghanistan Government and security agencies about the death of the youths,” said an NIA officer, NIE reports.
He said that it is very difficult to access information from IS provinces. He also said that lookout notices have been issued for the missing youths, including the dead.
It was on July 21, 2016 that many youths mostly from the Padanne village of Kasaragod went missing. The incident came to light when their parents filed a complaint with the police.