‘Stay back home and fight’: Islamic State shifts strategy from foreign recruitments to homegrown radicalisation

New Delhi, Aug 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) The clamour to leave the country and join the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda either in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan has gone down drastically over the last year. While on one hand this is a positive development for India, the other part of the problem is about online radicalisation.

An official said that the trend of Indian youth leaving or trying to leave the country to join the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda had peaked between 2014 and 2023.

However, since 2024 there has been a change in that pattern whereby the number of youth leaving the country or even trying to leave, has gone down drastically.

The data collected and analysed by the Indian Intelligence agencies say that the clamour to leave the country to join these terror groups was highest in South India with Kerala and Tamil Nadu being the leaders.

Currently, the number has come down to almost nil. An Intelligence Bureau official says that while analysing the chat patterns between Islamic State radicalised individuals and their handlers abroad, there are no calls that are made to leave the country.

In fact both the handlers or recruiters of the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda are today encouraging these youth to stay back in the country and carry out activities, the official said.

The Islamic State in particular has completely changed its pattern of operations. Not just in India, it is not encouraging its recruits across the globe to leave the country. This shift in pattern is dangerous, agency officials point out.

The Islamic State wants its recruits to stay back in their respective countries and undertake radicalisation and terror activities.

An official said that this is a deliberate shift in pattern by the Islamic State. It wants to create mini-Islamic States in every country. In fact in India, it is not looking to create a pan-India Islamic State, but is focussing on region specific operations, the official added.

The terror group wants to create Islamic States in every region of the country ranging from the North of the country to the South, the official added.

Another official said that the major focus is however on South India. There has been a surge in online communication especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Scores of youth are approached by the Islamic State handlers from across the country. While those in their 20s and 30s have been targeted, the latest strategy to approach teenagers who are in schools and colleges has only added to the headache of the security apparatus.

Counter-terror experts say that the strategy to approach teenagers is a well-thought out one. They want to radicalise these persons as they are of an impressionable age. By the time these people are in their 20s, they are completely radicalised and extremely dangerous, the experts also point out.

Officials say that if one studies the recent investigations that have been conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), it become clear that the Islamic State has focussed largely on Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Interestingly these were the states that reported the highest number of Islamic State recruits that left the country and went to either Syria or Iraq.

Investigators have found that in recent times there have not been cases where recruits are asked to leave the country. Instead the handlers have tried to establish a ‘liberated zone,’ or ‘Al-Sham’ in Padgha where the recruits take an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State.

In recent cases, it has also been found that once the 'bayath (oath of allegiance)' is taken, then these persons are part of Zoom lectures, Telegram and WhatsApp channels.

On the face of it for the agencies tracking such lectures, it appears to be just religious study. When they go deep into these events, it becomes evident that these are indoctrination classes during which the participants are prepared to propagate violent Jihad in India.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had reported that around 155 cases were linked to the Islamic State.

The US Department of State estimated that 66 Indian origin fighters were associated with the terror outfit. Of these 21 alone were from Kerala.

These persons had left Kerala to join the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Afghanistan.

Officials say that the number would have been way higher, but the Indian agencies carried out ‘Operation Chakravyuh’ by which scores of youth were tracked online and stopped from leaving the country.

While the agencies managed to stem to outflow into the Islamic State, the new scenario is a worrying one and the modus operandi has shifted from leave home to stay at home and propagate violent Jihad, an official noted.

Source: IANS