J&K police probing photos of men with IS flags ‘in Valley’

A day after a sequence of pictures of 4 men posing with the Islamic State (IS) flags have been printed by the terrorist outfit’s propaganda wing, Amaq, the Jammu and Kashmir Police mentioned they have been probing the matter.

The photos, the place 4 men in ‘salwar kameez’ (conventional Indian garments) are seen posing with a classy weapon and scriptures, have been mentioned to have been shot within the Kashmir Valley. The men are seen praying and breaking quick for Iftar (night meal) within the ongoing month of Ramzan.

A senior J&K police officer mentioned the photos seemed to be “staging a drama” however the police have been however investigating.

Neelesh Purohit, a cyber intelligence skilled who first posted the pictures on Twitter on May 6, mentioned this was the second occasion when the IS launched footage of their fighters on the Indian soil.

“It appears that the photos are edited and posted from someone in Afghanistan. They have used advanced editing tools,” he mentioned.

A senior authorities official mentioned the photos have been additionally launched on Nashir, a propaganda channel run by the IS on web-based application- Telegram.

“At the outset, the photos appear to have been shot somewhere in the Valley but the location could be in Pakistan occupied Kashmir also. The IS generally floats its propaganda during Ramzan, but there are no regular cadres of IS in Kashmir that we are aware of,” the official mentioned.

From October 2017 to 2018, Al Qaraar, an IS backed social media channel is engaged in a fierce competitors with al Qaeda to advertise its propaganda relating to the IS’s presence in Kashmir.

An official mentioned Al Qaraar had some association with Amaq.

In May 2019, Amaq introduced that the IS had launched a brand new province-Wilayah of Hind in Kashmir.

Chatter on the Internet

“The IS has lost territory and influence in central Asia and these appear to be desperate means to stay relevant. The flag in the photos released on May 6 is that of the IS, there has been a chatter about this on the Internet, we are yet to find anything concrete,” the official mentioned.

Last 12 months, the Union Home Ministry knowledgeable Parliament that “Investigations by the NIA [National Investigaton Agency] have revealed that the IS is most active in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.”

The Islamic State/ Islamic State of Iraq and Levant/ Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/ Daish/ Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/ Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and all its manifestations have been notified as terrorist organisations and included within the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 by the Central authorities.