Kerala ISIS links: Police arrests two persons, including recruiter, from Kannur

Kerala police arrested two more persons with suspected ISIS links from Kannur One of the arrested had connections with international leaders of ISIS Thalassery native Manaf and Hamsa had recruited people from Kasaragod and Kannur districts

Kerala police have arrested two more persons with suspected ISIS links from Kannur. The officials informed that Thalassery native Manaf and Hamsa had recruited people, from Kasaragod and Kannur districts to Islamic State. 

Hamsa had connections with international leaders of the terror outfit, and he led recruitment from Northern Kerala, the police said. The officials had on Tuesday arrested three Keralites with suspected ISIS links. 

Three persons, KC Mithilaj, Abdul Razzak and AV Rashid, were arrested around 3 pm for their links with the ISIS. The three were reportedly trained by Islamic State in Istanbul and were trying to enter Syria when they were stopped by the Turkey police. They were then deported to Kerala. 

Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has got five day's custody of Shajahan Velluva Kandy alias Mohamed Ismail Mohideen, a suspected ISIS terrorist, who was deported from Turkey in July. 

It said the NIA had earlier re-registered the case probed by the Special Cell (SB), New Delhi.

"Kandy was arrested on July 01, 2017 at the IGI airport, New Delhi, on his deportation by the Turkish authorities. He is an ISIS operative who had gone to Turkey/Syria for carrying out terrorist activities after procuring an Indian passport in the fake name," the agency said here.

Kandy (32), from Kannur in Kerala, was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police after it received information from Turkey's police about his deportation, Pramod Singh Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), had said.

He had gone to Turkey in June last year with his wife but was deported from there in February this year after he tried to cross over to Syria in an apparent bid to join the ISIS, the officer had said.

His wife was also sent back to India.

The police had said he procured a fake passport using the services of an agent from Chennai. In the fake documents, he was identified as Mohammad Ismail, 35, the officer said.

He travelled to Turkey alone in March and made an attempt to cross over to Syria in June, but was deported to India again, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)