Kerala doctor among bombers behind Afghan prison attack

Kerala doctor among bombers behind Afghan prison attack

Official sources told IANS that the ISIS suicide bomber has been identified as Kallukettiya Purayil Ijas, a physician and resident of Kasargod in Kerala

Aarti Tikoo SinghUpdated: Tuesday, August 04, 2020, 11:11 PM IST
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An inmate watches from behind a closed gate after a raid at the prison in Jalalabad.

Of the 11 ISIS suicide bombers involved in the Afghanistan prison break terror attack that left 39 people dead on Monday, one was a doctor from Kerala.

Official sources told IANS that the ISIS suicide bomber has been identified as Kallukettiya Purayil Ijas, a physician and resident of Kasargod in Kerala.

On Sunday evening, as per official sources in Kabul, 11 ISIS terrorists stormed the Jalalabad prison to break free their cadres, killing 39 people. In a fierce gun-battle which lasted for almost 24 hours, the Afghan security forces killed all the 11 attackers.

Ijas, according to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which has been investigating his case, went to Afghanistan to join the Islamic State's Khorasan Province branch of Daesh, the global Islamist terror group, in 2016.

As per the NIA chargesheet in the case, Ijas had gone to Afghanistan along with his pregnant wife Reffeala. While Ijas at the time was 33 years old, his wife was 26. Sources said Reffeala and their child are in the custody of Afghan authorities.

In July 2016, a parent from Kasargod had lodged a police complaint, stating that his 30-year-old son Abdul Rashid was missing along with his wife Ayisha (Sonia Sebastian) and child for almost two months after they had gone to Mumbai.

Around the same time, 14 other cases of missing people, including Ijas, were registered by their parents and relatives in the police station of the same area. Preliminary investigation revealed that the missing persons had left India to join the ISIS.

Though the NATO and Afghan forces claim to have killed most ISIS members in Nangarhar, sources said many escaped from the area unscathed.

In the chargesheet, the NIA listed Ijas, a resident of Hamsa Sagar, Thekkepuram, as an accused and absconder in the case.

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