Four Indians Deported From UAE, Detained Over Alleged ISIL Links

Indian intelligence detained four Indians on Tuesday, who had been deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their alleged links to the Islamic State jihadist group, a source in the Indian Home Ministry told Sputnik.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — Two of the suspects were detained at Trivandrum Airport while the other two were stopped at Kairpur Airport, both of which are located in the southern coastal state of Kerala.

According to the Home Ministry source, all four were deported from the UAE for posting pro-ISIL comments on Facebook. They allegedly had been in contact with young people in India with the aim of recruiting them into the terrorist organization.

The detainees used international WhatsApp numbers for their recruitment purposes. The Islamic State flag and related content was supposedly sent over the messenger to an account.

One of the arrested reportedly encouraged young Indians to join ISIL by promising to arrange marriages for them with British women, according to the source.

The top Indian intelligence agencies, the National Intelligence Agency, the Research And Analysis Wing and the Kerala State Police are all interrogating the four Indian nationals.

According to local reports, the detainees are part of a group of 11 suspected ISIL sympathizers from India, who were detained by UAE authorities in late August on charges of planning to join the Islamic State or recruiting young people into the terrorist organization.