New Delhi, August 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The number of Indian youths attempting to travel abroad to join terror groups such as the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda has fallen sharply over the past two years, but intelligence agencies are increasingly concerned about a shift towards online radicalisation and homegrown extremist activity.
According to officials, the trend of Indian youths leaving, or attempting to leave, the country to join the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan peaked between 2014 and 2023. Since 2024, however, such attempts have declined drastically and are now described by officials as almost negligible.
Intelligence assessments indicate that South India, particularly Kerala and Tamil Nadu, previously recorded the highest number of such cases. Officials say the current threat is increasingly centred on online interactions between radicalised individuals and handlers based overseas.
An Intelligence Bureau official said recent analysis of communication patterns suggests that foreign handlers are no longer encouraging recruits to travel abroad. Instead, they are being urged to remain in India and participate in radicalisation and extremist activities locally.
Officials describe the change as a deliberate shift in the Islamic State’s operational strategy. Rather than concentrating on sending recruits to conflict zones, the group is seeking to build locally rooted networks and promote violent extremist activity within different regions.
Security agencies are particularly concerned about increased online outreach in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Officials said people in their 20s and 30s continue to be targeted, while attempts to reach teenagers in schools and colleges have added a new dimension to the threat.
Counter-terrorism experts say teenagers are particularly vulnerable to prolonged online indoctrination because of their impressionable age. Investigators have also identified the use of online religious discussions and closed communication groups that can, according to officials, serve as vehicles for extremist indoctrination.
Recent National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigations have highlighted cases linked to Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra — states that had also recorded significant numbers of people travelling abroad to join the Islamic State in earlier years.
Officials said investigators have recently uncovered efforts to establish a purported “liberated zone” in Padgha, where recruits allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Subsequent activities included online lectures and interactions through platforms such as Zoom, Telegram and WhatsApp, which investigators said could conceal extremist indoctrination behind the appearance of religious study.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has previously reported around 155 cases linked to the Islamic State. The US Department of State estimated that 66 Indian-origin fighters were associated with the group, including 21 from Kerala who travelled to Afghanistan to join the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).
Officials credited Indian agencies’ “Operation Chakravyuh” with helping prevent numerous youths from leaving the country after they were identified through online monitoring.
While agencies have succeeded in curbing the earlier flow of recruits to foreign conflict zones, officials now warn that the threat has evolved — from encouraging vulnerable individuals to leave home to join terror groups to remaining at home and promoting violent extremism.
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