Indian, who joined ISIS in Iraq, killed?

Months after reports claimed that four Indians `enrolled` themselves in Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Sunni militant group in Iraq on Wednesday claimed that one of the youngsters from Mumbai has been killed.

Indian, who joined ISIS in Iraq, killed?

Baghdad/Mumbai: Months after reports claimed that four Indians `enrolled` themselves in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Sunni militant group in Iraq on its website Wednesday claimed that one of the youngsters from Mumbai has been killed.

Aarif Majid was one of the four persons who disappeared from Kalyan town and were suspected to have indoctrinated into ISIS jihadis in Iraq.

According to reports, Aarif's parents have received a call from an unknown caller informing them of his death. However, the caller did not give details of the other three youths.   

Four separate missing complaints were filed by the parents of the youth, identified as Aarif Majid​, Aman Naik Tandel, Shaheed Farooqui Tanki and Fahad Tanvir Sheikh with the Kalyan police in Thane district in the month of May. The four flew to Baghdad with a group of pilgrims on May 23 and Aarif's last contact with his family was on May 25. All were educated, were in their mid-20s and had cited various reasons, including employment options, for going to Iraq. 

In a long farewell note for his family which he had left behind, Majid, the son of a medico, had expressed anguish over various issues like "sinning, smoking, taking interest, watching TV, illegal sexual intercourse, intermingling of sexes, not praying or growing beards, lewdness, obscenity, disbelief, living luxurious lives" etc.

He had warned his shocked family that "these things will lead to you burning in hellfire".

He had added that he would meet his (unidentified) friend for "our greatest journey" which would be "a blessed journey for me because I don't want to live in this sinful country".

Later, reports had claimed that around 15 more men were missing from Bhiwandi and Mumbra in the Thane district near Mumbai, indicating that more young men might have joined the Sunni militant group in Iraq.

Police and intelligence agencies suspect that the youths may have been enticed online, through one of the Internet or some chat rooms where lot of propaganda material has been uploaded on the recent developments in Iraq.

The volatile situation in Iraq and the Levant region is giving Indian security and intelligence officials plenty of sleepless nights because of the danger of a jihadi spillover to India as the "contagion" has the potential to spread through the Islamist arc from the Middle East to China through Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.