Kerala doctor in IS terrorist raid on Afghan jail

KOZHIKODE: A Malayali youth from Padne in Kasaragod was among the Islamic State (IS) cadre that stormed the Jalalabad jail in Afghanistan on Sunday. Intelligence agencies confirmed that KP Ijaz was killed when he rammed an explosive-laden car at the gate of the prison before other IS cadre carried out the attack that killed at least 30 people.

Ijaz, a medical graduate from China, was among the 21 people who left Kerala to join IS in May 2016.His brother and sister-in-law were killed in a US drone attack two years ago. Ijaz’s wife Rufeala had surrendered before Afghanistan authorities in January this year and is in a Kabul jail. Earlier, Ijaz had worked at a clinic in Vadakara for some time. After reaching Afghanistan, Ijaz was part of the medical team that treated injured IS cadres.
He may have joined frontline cadres after a majority of his friends died in Afghanistan. Investigation agencies found out that radicalisation classes were held at the house of Ijaz at Padne, which were led by Abdul Rashid Abdulla, the leader of the group who was killed last year. According to a press release from IS, 11 of its cadre became “martyrs” in the attack.
There is one Abu Hayyan Al-Hindi in the list which could be the alias used by Ijaz. Earlier, Muhammad Muhsin, another Malayali from Kasaragod, was killed while attacking a gurdwara in Kabul in March 2020. Security agencies believe some more IS cadre from Kerala are still active in Afghanistan, including Muhammad Sajid and Ashfaq Majeed from Kasaragod. All IS cadres who did hijra to Syria have been killed, it is believed. Keralites had gone to the war zones in Syria and Iraq even before the formation of IS in 2014.