HYDERABAD: It’s for the first time that ISIS links have been traced to Andhra Pradesh. Two youngsters from the coastal districts of Andhra are said to have joined ISIS by taking an oath of allegiance in favour of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
A day after arresting Mohammed Irfan alias Abu Jaffer from Hyderabad on Tuesday, the officials of National Investigation Agency agency obtained leads on two persons from AP joining ISIS ranks. The duo have been identified as Rehman from Machilipatnam in Krishna and a scientist from Guntur town, NIA officials told Express.
“It is for the first time that youngsters from AP have been attracted to ISIS activities. Rehman, and a scientist from Guntur left their house informing their parents that they will go to Dubai for employment. Once they reached Dubai, some handlers helped them reach Syria, where they joined ISIS,’’ the sources said.
After Mohammed Irfan’s arrest, NIA officials interrogated him on his role in the ISIS module. During interrogation, Irfan reportedly told investigators that around 30 youngsters from Telangana and AP have attempted to join ISIS and they were in touch with some handlers.
“The two youngsters from AP have changed their names after joining ISIS. Irfan knew one of the youngster from Machilipatnam as Rehman while the other one he remembers as a scientist from Guntur,’’ sources said.
The NIA officials have contacted the Krishna and Guntur district police officials to collect more details on the duo. “We will take custody of Mohammed Irfan to get details about the youngsters from the Telugu states in ISIS,’’ NIA officials said.