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Indian Muslim Said to Have Joined ISIS Is Reported Dead Indian Student Said to Have Joined ISIS Is Reported Dead
(about 9 hours later)
MUMBAI, India — An Indian Muslim engineering student who suddenly left for Iraq with three friends this spring, and who was believed to have joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, has been reported dead, a man whose nephew was part of the group said Thursday. MUMBAI, India — An Indian engineering student who suddenly left for Iraq with three friends this spring, and who was believed to have joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, has been reported dead, a man whose nephew was part of the group said Thursday.
Arif Majeed, 22, left his home in Kalyan, outside Mumbai, in May, telling his family he was going to study, and next contacted them from Iraq, where he and his friends slipped away from a religious tour group and traveled to Mosul, a city now dominated by Sunni militants. The case has drawn the attention of the authorities because it is one of the first documented instances of young Indians being recruited online by an international jihadist group. The student, Arif Majeed, 22, left his home in Kalyan, outside Mumbai, in May, telling his family he was going to study, and next contacted them from Iraq, where he and his friends slipped away from a religious tour group and traveled to Mosul, a city now dominated by Sunni militants. The case has drawn the attention of the authorities because it is one of the first documented instances of young Indians being recruited online by an international jihadist group.
Iftekhar Khan, whose nephew Fahad Tanvir Sheikh was one of the three men who left with Mr. Majeed, said the news of Mr. Majeed’s death was conveyed in a phone call by another of the group who made the journey to Iraq, Shaheen Farooqui Tanki. “Arif’s father requested Shaheen’s family to ask about their son Arif. A few days later, Shaheen called again and said Arif had died. He didn’t know how but he was crying,” Mr. Khan said.Iftekhar Khan, whose nephew Fahad Tanvir Sheikh was one of the three men who left with Mr. Majeed, said the news of Mr. Majeed’s death was conveyed in a phone call by another of the group who made the journey to Iraq, Shaheen Farooqui Tanki. “Arif’s father requested Shaheen’s family to ask about their son Arif. A few days later, Shaheen called again and said Arif had died. He didn’t know how but he was crying,” Mr. Khan said.
Several Indian newspapers reported that Mr. Majeed had been killed in an explosion, possibly as a result of an airstrike. Mr. Tanki’s family gave Mr. Majeed’s father the news after evening prayers on Tuesday. “Imagine the state of a father who does not even get to see his son’s body,” Mr. Khan said.Several Indian newspapers reported that Mr. Majeed had been killed in an explosion, possibly as a result of an airstrike. Mr. Tanki’s family gave Mr. Majeed’s father the news after evening prayers on Tuesday. “Imagine the state of a father who does not even get to see his son’s body,” Mr. Khan said.
In a letter left behind for his family, Mr. Majeed asked for forgiveness and said that he would next see them in heaven. He said he was glad to leave India, which he described as “a sinful country.” In a letter left behind for his family, Mr. Majeed, who was Muslim, asked for forgiveness and said that he would next see them in heaven. He said he was glad to leave India, which he described as “a sinful country.”
An announcement, in Urdu, Arabic, English and Hindi, on a website often used by ISIS, said Mr. Majeed, shown holding a weapon, had been martyred in Iraq. It said that Mr. Majeed, who went by the name Abu Ali Al Hindi, had participated in the fight for the Mosul Dam and married a Palestinian woman from Gaza. The information could not be independently confirmed. A n announcement, in Urdu, Arabic, English and Hindi, on a website often used by ISIS, said Mr. Majeed, shown holding a weapon, had been martyred in Iraq. It said that Mr. Majeed, who went by the name Abu Ali Al Hindi, had participated in the fight for the Mosul Dam and married a Palestinian woman from Gaza. The information could not be independently confirmed.
“This website is false. Anyone can make a website and send a wrong message,” Mr. Khan said. “Our boys were peaceful.”“This website is false. Anyone can make a website and send a wrong message,” Mr. Khan said. “Our boys were peaceful.”