KASARGOD: T K Mursheed Ahmed, 25, a native of Vadakepuram in Padna here who left for Syria to join the Islamic State, has been reportedly killed in a drone attack in Afghanistan.
According to people close to Mursheed’s family, the family members of Mursheed had received a message on Telegram saying he was killed in an air strike. “But the message did not come from the usual source, so we are yet to confirm it,” said a relative.
He said intelligence agencies had contacted the family asking them to keep the message to themselves unless verified. If confirmed, it would be the second casualty in the group of 20 who left Kerala to join the IS in July 2016.
Earlier, on February 26, 2017, Hafeesudeen T K, 23, also from Padna, was killed in a drone attack in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
In July, 2016, Chandera police received two complaints saying K Mohammed Sajid and T K Mursheed Ahmed - working in the UAE - and belonging to Vadakepuram in Trikaripur were missing. Sajid’s mother had told the police that on May 29, 2016, he left for Mumbai from Sharjah where he was working with the Islamic Bank.
On reaching Mumbai, he called his mother to say he would come home with his friend Mursheed, working in Abu Dhabi.