An ISKP militant from the southern Indian state of Kerala has died in Afghanistan, possibly as a suicide bomber, the group said in its latest publication, without giving details on the circumstances around the attack he died in.  Accordingly to the article, he reportedly died on the day of his wedding, when the group sought a volunteer for a suicide attack.

ISKP’s publication, Voice of Khurasan, identified the Indian fighter only by his nom de guerre, Najeeb Al Hindi, and described him as a 23-year-old “engineering (M.Tech) student from Kerala” in an article about his death, according to a report in Hindustan Times. The article suggests he is apparently a fidayeen attacker in Afghanistan.

Dozens of young men from Kerala, as also from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, are believed to have joined the ISKP, the ISIS branch based in Afghanistan, since the group formation.

The article in the ISIS publication described him as a “very quiet” man who only “spoke when needed.” It further added he never complained about the difficult life of the mountains in Afghanistan.

Since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan last year, the group has clashed with the ISKP which enjoys considerable influence in the eastern state part of the country. The ISKP has been behind many deadly attacks in the country and killed both civilians and Taliban fighters.

The Kabul airport attack last year, during the hectic evacuation operation, where almost 190 people died, including 10 US Marines, was also executed by ISKP fighters. Most Indians who joined the rank of the ISKP in Afghanistan were from Kerala, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.

Thousands of the ISKP militants who were locked in Afghan jails were freed in the months leading to the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. 

(SAM)