An Islamic State recruit from Hyderabad, who fled to Syria via UK in February this year, was reportedly killed in a battle, according to Indian intelligence officials.
According to the local police, Waseem, after completing his engineering from Hyderabad, was pursuing a masters degree in engineering in a London college.
The family members of the 27-year-old Mohammad Haneef Waseem reportedly told the police that the Isis recruit from Hyderabad was killed in a battle in Syria.
"How he died we do not know... while fighting or in landmine blast or accidental death, we are not sure, but he died in March and the same was informed to his family members around 10 days back, who stay in Rajendra Nagar here (Hyderabad)," a police personnel told PTI.
Waseem's family in Hyderabad were informed of his death only 10 days back, when they received an SMS believed to be from Isis sources in Syria. The message was in Arabic and the family had to get it translated to know what it meant, the police said.
The investigators believe that the 27-year-old was lured by the Islamic State militants through social media.
Isis, which is a Sunni radical group, has been actively using social media to lure hundreds of young Muslims across the globe. While there is still no specific figures as to how many from India have joined Isis, Mumbai-based engineer Arif Majeed, who quit terror group Islamic State and returned to India had told NIA that he had seen at least 20 Indian men in Isis camps in Syria and Iraq. The number, however, could be much higher.
Earlier in February, nine Indians, including five children from Chennai and Telangana were detained and deported to India by Turkey after they attempted to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State.
Similarly, there also have been reports that a 19-year-old girl from Hyderabad, had gone to Syria via Qatar, but had later returned back dismayed by the poor living conditions in the Isis-held areas.
