Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani's declaration of a “new history” being written for the entire region after his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels took control over the Syrian capital Damascus has sparked concerns over the revival of extremist sentiments in the Middle East. At the moment, many foreign fighters are with HTS, says a senior security official, adding that Jawlani’s recent statements guaranteeing minorities of their rights need to be seen within the framework of radical interpretation.
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The concern is closer home for Indian security agencies who believe the presence of fragmented armed factions can give fillup to recruitment targeting Indian diaspora in the Gulf. While close coordination between security agencies, especially in UAE and Saudi Arabia, has prevented Indian terror operatives from being active in the Middle East, there is worry of online radical recruitment and lone wolf attacks threatening peace in the region .
Indian agencies have already witnessed several radicalised Indian operatives turning foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) in the badlands of Syria and Afghanistan a decade ago. In the end of 2013 and beginning of 2014, a part of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) leadership shifted base to Iraq and Syria after expressing their allegiance to the Islamic State. Over the years, news has trickled in that many of these IM leaders have died fighting for IS there.
While killings of some of them like Anwar Hussain and Shafi Armar, hailing from erstwhile Indian Mujahideen hotbed Bhatkal in Karnataka, in IS-controlled territories had allayed fear of their return, but the spread of the extremist ideology across Afghanistan and Syria made Indian security brass sit up and take notice.
Indian agencies also suspect family members of some of the FTFs may still be in prison. Other individual cases of Dr Shahnawaz from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, who was originally a member of the SIMI, reaching Syria have also not been forgotten by the police forces here. There was an input he died fighting but no confirmation came to either the family or the UP police. What came as evidence were videos and audio clippings of some of his associates narrating the reasons for their "migration" to a land where they could fight for a cause.
Indian agencies handed over a list of 20 names to the Interpol of such terror operatives who had left the country under mysterious circumstances and possibly found their way to Syria.
Security officials explained that whether it is the group of radicals from Kerala who travelled to Afghanistan or the IM operatives and Pak jihadis who moved from Afghanistan - Pakistan region and Arab lands to fight for caliphate in Syria and Iraq, the trend points towards deep connections to ISIS and Al Qaeda ideology. The banners can be different but the fluidity between terrorist organisations for tactical gains is not being ruled out, they said, explaining that AQ has spread itself to attract the support of many fragmented terror groups.
