Indian Army keeps strict vigil on possible Islamic State activities in Kashmir

Islamic State has been trying to gain foothold in the Kashmir valley, top defence sources told India Today TV, adding that “Army and other agencies are working to ensure that they do not succeed in their attempts,” the defence sources said.

Sources said that Islamic State-linked actors have been raising Islamic State flags and distributing other propaganda material in Kashmir, but have failed to get any traction.

Indian Army and other government security agencies are working to ensure that non-state actors working on behest of Islamic State do not succeed in spreading the influence of terrorist organisation in Kashmir, they said.

The sources also revealed that Pakistan’s intelligence service – ISI- has been helping Islamic State in gaining foothold in Kashmir as well as setting up its bases in Afghanistan.

A few months ago, Islamic State had said that the its militants had clashed with the Indian security forces in the village of Amshipora in Kashmir’s Shopian district, killing or injuring a number of them. The statement, however, did not mention when the alleged clashes occurred.

Previously, Islamic State attacks in Kashmir were linked to its so-called Khorasan Province branch, which was set up in 2015 to cover “Afghanistan, Pakistan and nearby lands”.

Source: India Today