Four from Kerala who joined Islamic State ‘killed’ in Afghanistan: Police

There was no official confirmation from NIA on the news of death of the four persons from Kerala’s Kasargode district who joined Islamic State.

A family of three and another man from Kerala’s Kasargode, who had joined terror group IS in Afghanistan, are reported to have been killed in a bomb attack, police said on Friday.

An Islamic State flag is seen in this picture illustration taken on February 18, 2016. (Reuters)

A police intelligence officer in Kasargode told IANS that they have heard the news but there is no official confirmation from the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

“What we have come to know is that the dead include Shihaz, his wife and their child besides another man. We are awaiting more details,” said the official who did not wish to be identified.

With this, the total number of Keralites, killed after joining IS in Afghanistan, has gone up to eight after the NIA last year confirmed the death of four.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in 2016 had said that 21 people, including children, were missing -- 17 persons from Kasargode district and four from Palakkad.