A Kerala man has reportedly been identified as the Islamic State suicide bomber behind the deadly Jalalabad prison bombings in Afghanistan which left 29 people dead. A Kasargod native and a doctor, Kalukettiya Purayil Ijas, has been linked to the prison attack.
A former resident of Thrikkaripur in Kasargod, Ijas had left with his wife Rihaila and their then 2-year-old child in 2016 to join the IS. They were part of a group of 17 Keralites, from Kasaragod and Palakkad, who were radicalised into joining the Islamic State.
Ijas and his brother Shihas left with their families at around the same time as their neighbours Hafees and Marvin Ismail, who too are believed to have joined the IS.
The recent two-day firing by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Jalalabad left 29 people dead, and 300 missing, according to BBC reports. The central prison in the capital of Nangarhar had housed over 1700 inmates, many of whom were reported to be IS and Taliban fighters. It is yet unclear if the attack by the ISIL operatives was a bid to free their fighters housed in the prison.
According to sources, there were a total of 11 attackers who were divided into four groups. The attackers constituted four Tajiks, three Indians, three Afghans and 1 Pakistani. The attackers used machine guns and opened fire on the prison building at 6:45 pm local time. Following this, suicide bombers detonated car bombs at the front entrance of the prison. Pictures of the attackers have been published by various media houses and a man, reportedly Ijas, can be seen posing alone too.
After a prolonged fight on Tuesday, Aghan security forces reclaimed the prison from ISIL fighters. At least 10 IS attackers are also believed to be dead in the gun firing.
A 2017 chargesheet of the 17 missing persons filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), states that the accused group had joined the IS. This was established by way of an NIA probe which unearthed mobile correspondence between the IS operatives with their family back in Kerala. It also confirmed that Ijas, his brother Shihas, Marvin Ismail and others were IS agents who were working to radicalise and recruit others to join them.