Is there any presence of ISIS Militants in Kashmir? The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police in a joint operation with Delhi Police have unfolded an Islamic State module in Srinagar. Three alleged militants including a student of Jamia Millia Islamia University were arrested in Srinagar on Sunday.
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Deputy Commissioner of Police, P.S Kushwah said the accused had tried to lob a grenade at the police party. “Two loaded pistols, three grenades, four mobiles and ISIS black flags were recovered from their possession. They were arrested from Srinagar’s Kothi Bagh area.”
In the investigations, the police found that the accused – Haris Mushtaq (student); Tahir Ali Khan and Asif Suhail Nadaf were in contact with their accomplices in Delhi. “They worked for Aadil Thokar. They all belong to the ISIS-inspired module.” The police further said that the accused wanted to strengthen their unit in their home state and Delhi for extending their activities.
According to CNN, ISIS had initially declared its Kashmir interest in 2016, describing it as part of its Khorasan Province. Despite two media reported ISIS killings in Kashmir earlier this year, officials in New Delhi had flatly denied that the group exists in the Valley.
J&K State Police Chief Shesh Paul Vaid had asserted there was no ‘substantial’ presence in the region. Amira Jadoon of the Combating Terrorism Centre at West Point had told CNN that “unlike their predecessors of the 1990s, this generation is educated and highly active on social media, a powerful recruitment tool for the Islamic State.
Meanwhile, a Counter Terror Official told The Week that the terrorists were no longer limiting themselves to the Valley. He said they wanted to make their voices heard.
Senior intelligence officials say that “radicalization of youth in J&K has taken place in leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.” They have expressed worry about the threat from self-motivated radicalized youth owing allegiance to various groups like the Islamic State to carry out terror acts in the Valley and different parts of the country.
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