Daijiworld Media Network
New Delhi, Apr 25: Mohammad Shafi Armar from Bhatkal, said to be the head and principal recruiter of Islamic State (IS) in India, died a few days ago in a US drone strike in Syria, a media report said.
According to a report published by the Times of India, three top government and intelligence sources have confirmed his death.
The report adds that the agencies are yet to ascertain the exact circumstances under which he was killed.
As per the report, Shafi, also known as Yousuf, had reportedly become an important ally of IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and was helping establish the IS in India. "He is learnt to have recruited at least 30 men for the group. According to 23 IS recruits arrested over the past year and a half by the NIA, Delhi police and police forces of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, Shafi planned to establish an IS unit in every Indian state," the report states.
Shafi's elder brother Sultan Armar, who was also heading the IS in India, died last year in a similar manner. Now, with both brothers dead, the IS in India is currently 'headless', states ToI report, quoting government sources.
The Armar brothers first came to the notice of intelligence agencies after the arrest and interrogation of Yasin Bhatkal, chief of Indian Mujahideen (IM). Apparently, the brothers were earlier part of the IM, but after differences arose between the Armar brothers and Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, they broke away and formed the Ansar-ul-Tauhid (AuT) with allegiance to ISIS. Shafi later dismantled AuT and formed Junud al Khalifa-e-Hind.
Apart from recruiting men to IS, Shafi was reportedly also arranging funds for them through hawala. He is also understood to be the common link between several IS suspects caught or questioned by different agencies, states the report.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) considered Armar the brain behind the Islamic State's online recruitment in India.
"We have been informed about his death by the US. We don't know where he was killed and exactly. We were told that he died in a US strike," an official told IANS.
The official, requesting not to be named, said the details surrounding Armar's death were being sought from the Americans.
Armar's death comes exactly a year after Indian security and intelligence officials in April 2015 busted a terror cell in Madhya Pradesh. Five terrorists arrested in Ratlam were said to be among the first recruits linked to the Islamic State.
The sources said the chief of the busted cell, identified as Irfan Khan, was directly recruited by Armar in March 2014.
Armar, who was the former Indian Mujahideen member, had also recruited 14 Indian men who were arrested by the NIA in January while they were planning terror strikes in India. The United Arab Emirates deported in January this year three Indians who were allegedly working under Armar.
"It is a setback for the group," the official said, adding, "However, it doesn't end the (group's expansion) plans for India. The ISIS is expanding in the neighbourhood and we are aware of that."
The official said that Armar was believed to have been in touch with at least 800 Indians through online platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp groups.
With IANS Inputs