Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Identifies Terrorist Killed In Lucknow Encounter As A Soldier Of The Caliphate

A channel on instant messaging service Telegram, considered close to the Islamic State (IS), has identified the terrorist killed by security forces in Lucknow as a soldier of the Caliphate, US-based SITE Intel Group has reported. The terrorist, named Saifullah, was killed in an Anti-Terrorism Squad-led operation in Lucknow’s Thakurganj area after a blast took place in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train.

The channel has reportedly posted a picture of the slain terrorist, calling him a “soldier of the Khilafah from India”. The SITE Intel Group has provided a screenshot of the the picture that carries the channel’s message. “Think not of those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead, Nay, they are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision,” reads the message on the picture posted in Urdu, Arabic and English.

It is important to note that Uttar Pradesh police, after initially claiming that Saifullah was a part of an active IS cell in India, retracted its statement saying that the group was ‘self-radicalised’ and derived inspiration from IS. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also did not mention IS in his statement to the Parliament.

According to The Hindu, the security agencies are verifying the message but are not very hopeful. “We are verifying the message but we have seen in the past that whenever IS has claimed attack it posts pictures of its members taken much before they are killed. In this case, they have posted a photograph, which was released by the U.P police,” the daily quoted an official as saying.