Keralite Dies Fighting for Islamic State in Syria: Police

KANNUR:
An Islamic State (IS) recruit from Kannur district has been killed in Syria, Kerala police said on Friday. A senior police official said family members received the news of Abdul Manaf’s death on January 17 through Telegram messenger app.
The 30-year-old IS fighter’s friend Kayyum, who is also fighting for the extremist group in Syria, sent the message to the Valapattinam family, deputy superintendent of police PP Sadanandan said. Involved in the murder of a CPM worker in 2009, Manaf was a local leader of the Kerala-based Popular Front India. He had also worked as the office secretary of the outfit in Delhi for some time before joining the IS, he said.
About 15 people from Kannur district have so far joined the terrorist outfit. Of them, six, including Manaf, have been killed in Syria. At least five were arrested and handed over to the NIA for investigation, Sadanandan said.
The remaining four are in Syria fighting for the IS, which has lost ground in the face of an onslaught by US-backed forces.
Many foreign nationals, including people from the subcontinent, are believed to have joined the Islamic State’s so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria. The group controlled large swathes of land in these two countries — before it lost ground in the face of armed operations by government forces and local militias.