Kerala seems to be a festering ground for IS sympathizers.
By Dileep Thekkethil
Follow @ambazaarmag
A group of Kerala youth were deported from the UAE for suspected links with Islamic State (IS) groups after their IS sympathetic posts were intercepted by the UAE police.
According to the Times of India, a Muslim youth believed to a native of Tirur, Malappuram, was detained in the Kozhikode International airport by the immigration and intelligence bureau after they received information from the UAE police of his alleged links with IS groups.
The youth, who was employed in Abu Dhabi, was later released by the police, but he is believed to be under police surveillance.
During interrogation, the youth told the police that a group of men from Kerala were also interrogated by the UAE police for their IS sympathetic Facebook posts.
The report also says that the quizzed youth were interested in jobs offered by a pro-IS organization in Syria. The organization later contacted the youth and were offered a job considering their pro-IS postings.
The Times report said, quoting unnamed sources, that more immigrants from Kerala are under the surveillance of the UAE police for pro-IS activities and are expected to be deported soon. The police also said that more people have been deported through Nedumbassery and Kozhikode International airports and are under the scanner of police and intelligence agencies.
The Tirur native who was interrogated by the IB official is also being watched by investigating agencies for his alleged links with terror outfits. He had been working in UAE for the last two years.
Earlier, there were reports of a native of Palakkad and a person from Kozhikode in Kerala joining the IS.