Karnataka-born key Islamic State terrorist Shafi Armar killed, says group
Shafi Armar, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka described by Indian and US officials as the Islamic State’s main recruiter in the country, has been killed in fighting in the terror organisation’s last remaining stronghold in Syria, according to a statement from the group .
Shafi Armar, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka described by Indian and US officials as the Islamic State’s main recruiter in the country, has been killed in fighting in the terror organisation’s last remaining stronghold in Syria, according to a statement from the group.
Image for representation (AFP file photo)
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The statement described Shafi Armar alias Yusuf al-Hindi as one of the founding members of Ansar-ul-Tawhid and said he had died fighting coalition forces at Baghouz in Syria on March 19.
The statement said Shafi Armar was among the first fighters from India to pledge allegiance to IS. His younger brother, Sultan Armar alias Abdul Rehman al-Hindi, who had founded Ansar-ul-Tawhid and pledged allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had died at Kobani in Syria a few years ago, it added.
The statement said the two brothers had travelled from India to Afghanistan and then Syria to join the IS. Shafi Armar was on the “Most Wanted” list of India’s National Investigation Agency. In June 2017, the US had designated him a global terrorist.
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.
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