Over 150 youths under scanner for IS leaning

Close to 150 youths in the country, mostly from South India, are under the surveillance of security agencies for their leanings towards the Islamic State (IS) and online engagements with sympathisers.

A report prepared by security agencies against the backdrop of Paris attacks last week also showed that 23 people of Indian nationality have gone to the areas held by the IS to fight for the outfit. This include around a dozen Indians who were staying abroad and got swayed by IS propaganda.

The report also showed that the security agencies managed to prevent 30 youths from flying from India to Syria and Iraq to join the IS following intelligence inputs and online surveillance.

The surveillance on the 150 youths came after collecting inputs about their leanings. “Most of them are in regular contact with some IS activists through websites and there is a need to have a check on them,”  the report said.

A top home ministry official said the security establishment is using the community and families to dissuade youths who were influenced by the online campaign by the terror outfit. Several such youths were identified and the families are being used to help them leave such activities.

Official sources said they have details about a dozen Indians who have joined the IS. However, they said they were not ruling out the possibility of more people already in the war zone.

Of the 23 people who had gone to the IS areas, six were killed while one returned home in Mumbai.

Those who are currently fighting for the IS include two youths from Kalyan in Maharashtra, an Australia-based Kashmiri, one youth from Telangana, one from Karnataka, an Oman-based Indian and a Singapore-based Indian.