KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will approach Interpol to trace out Keralites holed up in Syria after joining the Islamic State (IS). As the terrorist group has been routed in Syria, the agency is looking to collect whereabouts of Keralites who joined IS while working in Bahrain.
Recently, the anti-terror agency approached the NIA court in Kochi to issue a non-bailable warrant based with which it can approach Interpol to issue a blue notice against accused persons arraigned in a case registered at Wandoor police station in Malappuram.
Around 50 persons from Kerala are suspected to have joined IS and moved to Syria and Afghanistan since 2015. Mansoor of Kondotty, Mansoor of Vadakara, Shahnad of Kannur, Fajid Hamsa of Koilandy, Ashraf Moulavi of Vaniyambalam, Safeer Rahman of Perumbavoor and Muhadis of Vaniyambalam are involved in the Wandoor IS case. They were radicalised in Bahrain before they migrated to Syria with their families.
“Interpol Blue notice is issued to receive information about persons holed up in foreign countries. As the war against IS is over in Iraq and Syria, through Interpol we can receive whereabouts of these persons from agencies in Syria. Photographs and other details of these persons would be handed over to Interpol. Some of them are suspected to be in jail or in camps in Syria,” sources said.
It would not be easy to trace these persons as most of them destroy their passports. There are other Keralites - accused in a case registered at Valapattanam police station - who moved to Syria.
Shahanad A V, Abdul Manaf, Shabeer, Suhail, Shafwan, Mohammed Sajil, Mohammed Sameer, Salmanul Daris, Afsal K and Tasleem left for Syria in the 2015-17 period. Apart from it, 23 persons have joined IS in Afghanistan of which 8 have been killed.