ISIS threat in India from Maldives, not Bangladesh

The future threat of Islamic State (ISIS) in the Indian sub-continent could be from Maldives rather than Bangladesh, according to a classified report sent by the Intelligence Bureau to multiple agencies recently. The report, details of which have been accessed by this newspaper, says ISIS may have as many as 500 sympathisers now in Maldives, in addition to those who been suspected to have joined the terror outfit in Syria and Iraq.

“ISIS has been successfully using the Internet and social media in influencing youth in the island nation and is determined to expand its network further,” the report states and adds that in Bangladesh rather than ISIS it is the Jamaeytul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) which is increasing its influence.

The intelligence inputs are in line with the investigations carried out by security agencies in Bangladesh, which indicate that the recent terror attack at an upmarket restaurant in Dhaka may actually have been carried out by the JMB and not the ISIS, though the latter claimed credit for it in an effort to increase its footprint in the region.

“The local security agencies in Maldives are fully aware of the issue and have been taking corrective steps regarding the increasing influence and attempts being made by ISIS in the island country. But since the development is happening virtually in India’s own backyard, it means that our security agencies need to be extremely careful about it,” a senior intelligence official said.

Counter-terror officials who are closely tracking activities of ISIS, not just in the country but the entire sub-continent, feel that this trend of the terror group targeting the entire region will only increase in the coming days. According to the intelligence note, though ISIS may have sympathisers among youth in Maldives, it has not yet been able to establish a presence or form a formidable network yet to carry out any major subversive activities.

It is suspected that though those involved in the terror attack in Dhaka were also influenced by ISIS, but they belonged to the JMB and the entire attack was executed by it rather than the Islamic State. Indian agencies too are closely monitoring attempts being made by ISIS to mark a presence in the country and had recently smashed a major terror module in Hyder-abad, which is suspected to have been influenced by it. Indian intelligence agencies, sources said, have been working with counterparts in Maldives on the issue that ISIS is trying to increase its influence in the sub-continent.

“We are in touch with our counterparts in Maldives and have been sharing information with them as this issue is not limited to just one country, but will ultimately impact the entire region. So we need a collective effort to curb this growing menace of ISIS,” the official added.

Following the Dhaka attack, security has already been beefed up considerably along the Indo-Bangladesh border as some intelligence inputs suggest that terror groups could carry out some incident in the north-east as well.