ISIS youth from Kerala killed in U.S. MOAB bombing

File image only for representational purpose / courtesy: AFP

New Delhi: One of the 21 missing Kerala youth, who was later found to have joined the ISIS, was killed in the mega airstrike conducted by the United States in the Achin district of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. The U.S. military had dropped its most powerful non-nuclear bomb to target the Islamic State tunnels and personnel. According to the report, four U.S. military officials with direct knowledge of the mission said a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, nicknamed MOAB, was dropped at 7 p.m. local time Thursday. The MOAB is also known as the "mother of all bombs." A MOAB is a 21,600-pound, GPS-guided munition that is America’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb. The information about Murshid’s death was received by his family thought a telegram message. Earlier in February, another youth from the same group was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan. The message was received by a distant relative of Hafesudheen Theke Koleth in Kasaragod, Kerala, who was from the missing 21-member group who have left the nation. The message went on to say that the killed youth had been buried in Afghanistan. At least four out the 21 individuals, who belong to Christian and Hindu families, had converted to Islam over a year ago, reports state. Two of the individuals had reportedly sent text and voice messages to their families confirming that they have moved to a remote location. Earlier, the NIA had arrested two people in connection with the criminal conspiracy hatched within and outside India, with the intention of furthering the objectives of the Islamic State(IS) and for joining and supporting the organization. The investigation revealed that the conspiracy had been in operation since the month of July, 2015.