Stray incidents of ISIS radicalisation taken care of, says former RAW chief

New Delhi: A top security official on Wednesday sought to downplay threat of radicalisation of Indian youths by terror group ISIS, saying there were some "stray" incidents and those have been "taken care of" by security agencies.

The Officer on Special Duty to National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) and former RAW chief, Alok Joshi, said there was no widespread influence of ISIS ideology and the "stray cases" were mainly out of "curiosity" over the radical outfit.

"I will contest the point that there is a widespread pull of ISIS (in India)... We are not in agreement with that. Now, I am not there (in RAW) but certainly when I was, we didn't see the kind of spread that people generally believed to be there (for the terror group). That is just not there," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference to discuss counter-IED strategies by National Security Guard (NSG).

Joshi, who retired as RAW chief on December 31 and is set to take over as the NTRO Chairman on April 1, said those who were probably swayed by the ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), have since been taken care of.

"There is a certain curiosity element as to what ISIS is all about. But there is no sign of any great involvement (of Indian youths with ISIS)... One or two stray cases may be there... But people have been suitably cautioned, informed and assisted... This is the kind of response that is required (against the activities of ISIS). Please feel reassured on that," he said.

Joshi, however, evaded a direct reply to a question on the recent controversy over an intercept by NTRO following which the Coast Guard fired on a Pakistani fishing vessel off the Gujarat coast.

"It is very unfair to constantly cast doubt on this aspect... I can tell you that till yesterday I was a consumer of NTRO information and there was never any difficulty in giving information or interacting with NTRO at any level. "Let me assure that there are processes in place at the cutting-edge level in the agency (NTRO). This (exchange of snoop data) is not an issue at all," he said.

To questions whether the operation off the Gujarat coast on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1 was correct or whether there was an inquiry instituted to probe lapses, if any, he said to the best of his knowledge, there was "no inquiry" but "I am only an understudy as of now." 

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New video purportedly shows beheading of Japanese journalist by ISIS

TOKYO:  The Islamic State released a video Saturday purportedly showing the beheading of Kenji Goto, a Japanese journalist being held hostage by the extremist group, after negotiations for a prisoner exchange stalled.

Japan strongly condemned the killing, saying an “atrocious act of terrorism” had been committed and that the country was “outraged by the horrific act.”

Japanese and Jordanian authorities had been negotiating for days to swap Goto and another hostage, Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh, for an Iraqi woman who is on death row in Jordan for her role in a 2005 triple bombing attack in Amman.

 

The Islamic State had said that if the woman, Sajida al-Rishawi, was not returned by sunset on Thursday, it would first kill Kaseasbeh, who was captured when his plane crashed in Syria last month, then Goto.

The negotiations appeared to have broken down over Jordan’s insistence on receiving proof the pilot was still alive. Yasuhide Nakayama, Japan’s deputy foreign minister, said late Friday that they were “in a state of deadlock.”

There was no mention of the fate of Kaseasbeh in Saturday’s video, which showed Goto kneeling in the desert wearing an orange outfit, with a black-clad man known as “Jihadi John” standing beside him.

“To the Japanese government: You, like your foolish allies in the Satanic coalition, have yet to understand that we, by Allah’s grace, are an Islamic caliphate with authority and power, an entire army thirsty for your blood,” the man said in English, according to the Site Intelligence group.

“Abe, because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin,” the man said.

The video shows Goto’s beheading, then a body lying on the ground with a head on top of it.

The Japanese government condemned the gruesome video.

“I cannot help feeling strong indignation that an inhuman and despicable act of terrorism like this has been committed again,” said Yoshihide Suga, Abe’s chief cabinet secretary, on Sunday local time.

In Washington, White House officials said they were trying to authenticate the video.

“The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s actions, and we call for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages,” said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, using an acronym for the Islamic State. “We stand in solidarity with our ally Japan.”

Goto, a 47-year-old father of three, including two daughters under the age of 2, was a freelance video journalist who had been captured by the Islamic State late last year while trying to secure the release of his compatriot, Haruna Yukawa.

Yukawa, a man who had suffered a series of setbacks in his life and had gone to the Middle East on a voyage of self-discovery, appeared to have been beheaded last week. Goto was shown in a previous video holding a photo of an executed man who appeared to be Yukawa.

The two met while traveling in the region. After Yukawa’s capture in August, Goto went back to Syria to try to find him, only to be captured himself in late October.

The men appeared in a hostage video earlier this month while Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, was on a tour of the Middle East. In Cairo, he pledged $200 million in aid for countries who were taking in refugees from the Islamic State, which has taken over swaths of Syria in particular. The Islamic State initially demanded the same amount as a ransom for the two men. Then, after Yukawa’s execution, changed its demand to the prisoner exchange.

On Friday, Goto’s wife, Rinko, issued her first statement. “I fear that this is the last chance for my husband, and we now have only a few hours left to secure his release and the life of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh,” she wrote. “I beg the Jordanian and Japanese Government to understand that the fates of both men are in their hands.”

Their youngest daughter was only 3 weeks old when Goto left to try to rescue Yukawa, she said.

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US sees increased role for India in battle against ISIS

Washington: India could play a role in battling Islamic State, the White House said on Monday during a visit to New Delhi by President Barack Obama, underlining Washington's confidence that India is increasingly prepared to engage on global security issues.

US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said India's involvement could focus on intelligence on the flow of money and militants to the radical Islamist group active in Syria and Iraq rather than deploying troops on the ground. "When you look at our broader counter-terrorism cooperation and how we're tracking the flow of fighters and terrorist financing, there I do think we want to find space for cooperation," he told reporters.

The comments came hours after Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi together watched a dazzling parade of India's military might and cultural diversity, capturing the two countries' determination to put decades of brittle relations behind them and forge a robust strategic partnership. It rained on the Republic Day parade through the heart of New Delhi, but excitement nevertheless ran high over Obama's visit, which began on Sunday with a clutch of deals to unlock billions of dollars in nuclear trade and deepen defence ties.

Most significant was an agreement on issues that, despite a groundbreaking 2006 pact, had stopped U.S. companies from setting up nuclear reactors in India and had become one of the major irritants in bilateral relations. "Mobama breaks N-deadlock," ran the front-page headline of the Mail Today newspaper, which carried a photograph of Modi and Obama hugging each other warmly.

The bonhomie was a remarkable spectacle given that, until a year ago, Modi had been banned from visiting the United States after deadly Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002 in a state he governed. Obama was the first U.S. president to attend India's Republic Day parade, a show of military prowess that was long associated with the anti-Americanism of the Cold War.

He and Modi sat behind a rain-spotted screen as the parade unfolded along Rajpath, an elegant lawn-bordered boulevard dating from the British colonial era that connects the presidential palace to India Gate. Helicopters showered petals on the crowds, and then tanks, missiles, stiffly saluting soldiers, brass bands and dancers filed past the guests.

Security was tight across the city, where tens of thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed on street corners and rooftops. Obama's presence at the parade - at Modi's personal invitation - marks the latest upturn in a roller-coaster relationship that a year ago was scarred by protectionism and a fiery diplomatic spat.

The United States views India as a vast market and potential counterweight in Asia to a more assertive China, but has frequently been frustrated with the slow pace of New Delhi's economic reforms and unwillingness to side with Washington in international affairs.

Elected last May, Modi has injected a new vitality into the economy and foreign relations and, to Washington's delight, has begun pushing back against China across Asia. "The larger goal that the United States should be pursuing here is to convince India to join a coalition of democracies to balance China's rise," former U.S. ambassador to Beijing Jon Huntsman and the South Asia Center's acting director, Bharath Gopalaswamy, wrote in a joint opinion piece for Reuters.

India, with the world's third-largest population of Muslims, has not openly engaged so far in international efforts to combat the spread of Islamic State. Indian Muslims have largely shunned radical causes, and police say only four Indians are known to have joined the group.

Analysts say that, under Modi, India appears more willing to engage on issues beyond its borders, including security in the South China Sea and Islamist militancy. Modi and Obama on Sunday committed to close consultation on global crises, including in Iraq and Syria. "The leaders agreed to exchange information on individuals returning from these conflict zones and to continue to cooperate in protecting and responding to the needs of civilians caught up in these conflicts," they said in a joint statement.

They also agreed to a 10-year framework for defence ties and struck deals on cooperation that included joint production of drone aircraft and equipment for Lockheed Martin Corp's C-130 military transport plane. Other deals ranged from an Obama-Modi hotline - India's first at a leadership level - to financing initiatives aimed at helping India use renewable energy to lower carbon intensity.

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Son did nothing illegal says father of ISIS sympathiser

Hyderabad: The father of the city-based youth, arrested by the Hyberabad police when he was allegedly on his way to Dubai to join the Middle East terror group ISIS on Saturday said his son has not done anything illegal.

"There is a difference between thinking and action. He has not done anything illegal. May be on the laptop some sympathy factor may be there for some organisations (in his writing). I don't deny that. But I have never spoken about politics with my son," Ahmed Moinuddin, a retired engineer, said.

Hyderabad resident Salman Mohiuddin was planning to go to Syria via Turkey to join the ISIS, police said.

Salman was going to Dubai for a job as he could not get family visa for USA, he said on being asked about why his son wanted to visit the gulf country.

According to the police, Salman had created various Facebook groups under pseudonyms and he was in touch with people interested in ISIS.

He returned to India in the last week of October 2014 after he was denied extension of visa by the US authorities.

He allegedly intended to undergo training in Syria and return to indulge in anti-national activities, police said.

Salman was arrested yesterday under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology Act.

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Hyderabad: Suspected ISIS recruit arrested

Hyderabad: A techie was arrested for his alleged links with the terror outfit Islamic State by

Telangana police at Hyderabad airport on Friday.

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