My son has not joined any terror outfit, claims family of Indian youth suspected to have joined ISIS in Iraq

The father of one of the Indian youth, who is said to have flown to Baghdad to join the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), which is fighting for a Sunni Muslim-dominated Caliphate in the region, has claimed that his son has not joined hands with any terror group in Iraq.

The special branch of Mumbai police had seized laptops, notebooks and computer hard discs from the houses of four youngsters from Thane and Kalyan on Monday. The four youngsters, Fahad Shaikh, Arif Majeed, Aman Tandel and Shaheen Tanki, all in their 20s, reportedly flew to Baghdad on May 23, 2014. 

But the father of one of the youth has denied his son's association with any terrorist organisation. “My son Arif Majeed is not associated with any terrorist organisation and has not joined any terror outfit in Iraq. He is just stuck in Iraq and is unable to contact us,” claimed Ajaj Majid, who is a doctor by profession.

Also read: Laptops, hard disks seized from houses of youths 'fighting' for ISIS in Iraq

It was suspected that the four youngsters had joined the terror outfit in Iraq's Karkar region. But Dr Ajaj Majid said, “My son has gone to visit pilgrimage sites in Iraq, along with 22 other citizens. He last contacted us on May 25. According to the people who went with them, all four youths took a cab for Falluja, the city located in the most affected area of Mosul." 

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“Arif is a good boy and is of a calm nature. They are stuck in Iraq. Therefore, without hiding any information, we registered a complaint with the police on May 28. We request the Indian government to bring them back home,” added Majid.