Kochi: After losing ground in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State (IS) state has now turned its attention to India and Sri Lanka according to intelligence reports received by the Kerala Police department. The reports have been provided by various sources including FBI and the Sri Lanka intelligence, a senior police official stated here Thursday on condition of anonymity.
According to one of the reports, the IS has recruited more than 100 people from Kerala. They have been provided with special training to carry out jihadist activities in the southern state. The report also said that the IS has targeted the states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kashmir as the militant outfit feels that it has a lot of sympathisers in these four states.
The reports have also mentioned that the IS has discontinued using the ‘Telegram Messenger’ as its preferred mode of communication fearing leak of information. It has now started using more secure apps like ‘Chatsecure’ and ‘Silent text’ for exchange of information.
The official informed that since the Easter Sunday attacks, security has been beefed up along the Kerala coastline to prevent entry of terrorists into the state. The Kerala Police are also keeping a close watch on more than 30 people who are allegedly linked to various groups.
Meanwhile another intel report which the police here received less than 10 days ago has said that ‘key installations in Kochi, including a prominent shopping mall, could become IS targets’. It also said that cyber activity in the southern state has increased manifold in the last couple of months. This, the letter said, is a sure sign of an ‘impending terror attack’.
Agencies
