ISIS chief confirms Indian fighters part of insurgent group

NEW DELHI: In a revelation that is sure to raise worries in India’s security establishment, the firstever audio message of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIS, has confirmed suspicions that Indians could well be part of his organisation’s ranks.

While enumerating t he nationalities of fighters who constitute ISIS, Al-Baghdadi’s 20-second-long audio titled ‘A message to the Mujahideen and the Muslim Ummah in the month of Ramadan’ that was released on Tuesday mentions that Indians, along with the Chinese, American, French, German, Australian and others figure in the ISIS squad.

According to intelligence sources, on January 22, a Tamil Naduborn person had left for Syria to fight alongside the Islamic fundamentalists. In 2013, the person trained with Chechen jihadis and had recruited two Chennai college students for Jihad in Syria as well.

Reports speak of about 10,000 foreign fighters in the ISIS ranks.

Ajai Sahni, a counter terrorism expert, told HT: “Already there are confirmed cases of Indians fighting in Syria. One faction of the Indian Mujahideen is also fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan.”

Foreign fighters are mainly used for suicide attacks according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank that has analysed an ISIS report published on March 31, 2014. “Majority of suicide bombers in Iraq have historically been foreign fighters...This division suggests ISIS leadership intended to highlight the use of foreign fighters,” it says in a report.

The ISIS chief ’s speech also signalled strong possibilities that India is a prime target. India figures quite a few times in his speech where he names it as one of the countries where “Muslims’ rights are forcibly seized”. Al-Baghdadi then goes on to give a clarion call to believers for emigration (hijrah) to the Islamic state.