Deputy Prime Minister of Syria Walid al Moualem, who is currently in India on a state visit, disclosed that four Indian nationals trying to join the militant extremist group Islamic State (IS) are currently confined in a Damascus prison.
So far, the Indian intelligence officials believe 23 Indians have joined the ranks of militant groups like IS and al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al Nusrah in Syria. Of these, six have died fighting the deadly civil war between the government forces and a rebel opposition spanning a range of armed Jihadist groups.
These four Indians are believed to have recently fled from India. Moualem said they entered Syria through Jordan and were arrested by the government forces. He was answering a question during a press conference here on the status of Indians fighting in Syria. “We have invited the authorities to come and identify them and take them back. They had come to join Daesh,” he said referring to the Arabic name of IS. He refused to divulge any other details on when the arrests were made.
After banning IS in 2014, state police particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra have increased efforts to prevent young men and women from trying to join the group. More than 50 people, including families, have been stopped, some from at the airport, to flee the country and join the Islamic State. Not all want to pick up arms and join the jihad. The establishment of a Caliphate in the captured parts of Iraq and Syria by the IS has also lured many Indians to migrate or make a hijrah and live under the law of Sharia.
Earlier during his visit Moualem met external Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to discuss the crisis in Syria. Moualem who is also the foreign minister said the dialogue was constructive and productive with both sides agreeing to support the fight against the terrorism. India has agreed to provide financial and economic aid as well as food and medicine to Syria.
The UN-backed Geneva plan is expected to set stage for a peace plan in Syria to end the five-year-long civil war. Moualem said that while Damascus does not expect India to play any role in the Geneva conference to resolve the crisis, they do want New Delhi’s political support in the peace process.
Source : DNA
