New Delhi: Indian intelligence agencies are in steady search of Indians who are suspected to have contacted an Arab Spring activist and trying to figure out how they can join dreaded terror organisation Islamic State.
The catch here is in the similarity the activist’s name, Iyad El-Baghdadi, bears with the Islamic State chief. According to an Indian official, the Indians who contacted the activist based in Norway appear to have confused the activist Iyad El-Baghdadi with Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and have been sending emails to Iyad El-Baghdadi expressing their interest to join the terror group and how they could to reach the ‘caliphate.’
Iyad who is a Palestine-born UAE citizen who resides in Norway tweeted on Tuesday evening about could I get in touch with Indian authorities to report these people.
He tweeted, “If I get emails from India-based accounts asking how to join ISIS, who in India do I report them to?”
“Already contacted the email host and reported. I want to know the security agency to report to as well, just in case,” he further tweeted.
Though he did not reveal the identity of the people or the content of the emails, but he did mention that the people who reached out to him want him to “join ISIS”.
Intelligence agencies are in continuous search of hundreds of people online who comes in contact with Islamic Sate recruiters.
They have also mentioned that they are trying to get information from such people and said, “We have taken cognizance of it and are trying to get more information and verify the same.”
Later on Mumbai police responded to Iyad by tweeting, “Thank you for bringing it to our notice. We will look into it.”
The sources of intelligence also said that about a month-and-a-half ago a similar message was sent out by Iyad. Agencies got in touch with him but the investigation did not lead to any suspect.
“We have spoken to him earlier. He seemed to have some language issue then. He had then given us details of the messages he had received purportedly from Indians willing to join the Islamic State. But it did not lead us anywhere,” said an intelligence source.
A security establishment officer said, “We don’t know who these people are, what is the nature of their query to Iyad, and whether they actually mean to travel to Syria or Iraq. We also have to establish that the emails are not pranks. They seem to have confused Iyad for the Islamic State chief. A lot of verification will have to be done.”
This is not the first time where Iyad has been confused with the IS chief.
Iyad also claimed that the twitter had suspended his account @iyad_elbaghdadi and the social networking giant has abstained to comment in to the matter, Iyad claimed it “racism.”
Iyad also said, “to confuse an Arab man for the IS leader because of his very Arabic common surname is overt racism.”
