Shafi Armar, Karnataka-born IS recruiter, declared global terrorist by US

Armar, suspected to be in Syria has recruited youths from India to join Islamic State through social networking sites.

NEW DELHI: Mohammad Shafi Armar, identified as a leader and head recruiter for the Islamic State in India, was on Thursday named a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' by the US. Armar, a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka, becomes the first Indian leader of the dreaded terror outfit against whom America has slammed sanctions. 30-year-old Armar, who has many aliases like 'Chhote Maula', 'Anjan Bhai' and 'Yousuf al-Hindi', also has pending against him an Interpol Red Corner notice. Armar, suspected to be in Syria has recruited youths from India to join Islamic State through social networking sites. The State Department said Armar has recruited dozens of IS sympathizers throughout India who are plotting attacks, acquiring weapons and scouting locations for training camps. "Mohammed Shafi Armar is a leader and head recruiter in India for the Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, ISIS, the State Department said. "He has cultivated a group of dozens of ISIS sympathisers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps," said the statement. Armar was said to have left for Pakistan along with his elder brother after crackdown on Indian Mujahideen cadres. After a fight with Bhatkal brothers, including Riyaz, the founder of IM, in Pakistan, Armar is believed to have created Ansar ul Tawhid, which later pledged its allegiance to the ISIS. There have been many reports of him having been dead in a drone attack or crackdown by the allied forces. However, every time intelligence agencies began giving credence to such reports, his name or voice cropped up in intercepts. Tech savvy, Armar has been operating on Facebook and other personal messenger services to contact, brainwash and recruit youths from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. His links to the ISIS were also the highlight of the interrogation of Yasin Bhatkal, who was arrested near the Nepal border in 2013. Armar first came on the radar of investigation agencies when the NIA was probing suspected Islamic State cadres in Ratlam of Madhya Pradesh. During the interrogation of alleged IS operatives, it emerged that Armar was motivating and radicalising Muslim youths in India. He was said to have been recruiting youths for the Jund ul Khalifa-e-Hind through online radicalisation. The NIA had charge-sheeted him along with five others for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror strikes in the national capital and also during ardh kumbh in Haridwar. (With inputs from PTI)