Bahrain Mirror: The Indian "The Times of India" newspaper said that Indian youths, who were killed while fighting for the Islamic State in Syria, were the members of an extreme Salafi group in Bahrain before they joined the outfit (IS).

Sources told TOI that the two Salafi preachers from Kerala were instrumental in radicalising the youth. The Salafi preachers had organised classes at a religious centre in Bahrain and at other places where they injected the extreme Salafism in the youth. A few members of the group were working with a catering company in Bahrain.

The newspaper further stated that after getting initiated into extreme Salafism, the youth were learnt to have contacted some well-known Salafi scholars from Kerala who went to Bahrain at different times. "The Salafi scholars did not entertain the youth as they were found to have strong leanings towards the Islamic State," sources added.

The youths later came into contact a full-fledged IS cadre in India. It is suspected that the Salafi preachers had a role in helping the youth in establishing contact that man, who is learnt to have steered them to the IS stronghold in Syria.

The Indian newspaper said stated that the unravelling of the Bahrain group has confirmed the suspicion of the security agencies that the influence of the IS runs deep in Kerala than what was initially thought to be. IS is suspected to have recruited more Malayalis working in the Gulf countries.

Insights gained regarding the Bahrain group have once again forced the law enforcing agencies to sharpen their focus on the Salafi groups in Kerala, according to the newspaper.

Arabic Version