Photo of Kerala youth who joined ISIS reaches relative, shows his dead body

Kochi: The Kerala police are still groping in the dark, two days after a drone strike in Afghanistan killed ISIS member Hafeezuddin, 26, a native of Padanna near Cheruvathur in the state.

The Kerala cops are still ascertaining the validity of the information that Hafeezuddin, one among 20 others from the state suspected to have joined ISIS, had been killed, said a report.

However, a Whatsapp message has been received by a relative of the slain youth, showing a photo of his body lying on the ground, said the report.

“The local police could not as yet ascertain the whereabouts of the persons who went missing under mysterious circumstances in June last year and are said to have joined the IS later,” Deputy Superintendent of Police VT Assainar was quoted as saying.

He added that only Central agencies like the NIA could get any information, a view held by Superintendent of Police KG Simon too.

The police has also not been able to confirm whether the 20 missing persons, who include women and children, are in Afghanistan or Iraq.