Youth added to Islamic State's WhatsApp group

KOCHI: In what could be proof to the expanding presence of Islamic Slate (IS) in the state, a youth working with a private company at Kakkanad received a series of text messages from a WhatsApp group in the name of IS. The youth hailing from Kasaragod has filed a complaint before the cyber cell of Kochi city police in this regard.
The conversation started with a text message: "You are in our contact list.Welcome to Dawlathul Islam Dwah group." The messages were sent from the number +1(509)871-0700 by a person who introduced himself as Shami. The sender has warned the youth that joining the WhatsApp group of IS involves risk and hence needs to be careful.
The stranger first messaged the youth on Friday with the greeting 'asalamu alaikkum'. When the youth asked the sender's identity, the stranger sent the reply "Shami, from Islamic State".
The other messages in the conversation were sent on Saturday. The stranger had also asked the whereabouts of the youth ,including his profession. Later, the youth received an audio file, which is believed to be in Arabic.
After seeing the flag of IS as display picture of the group, the youth left the group. Before quitting the group, the youth took screenshots for evidence. According to the Muslim youth, the stranger could have accessed his mobile number from a Facebook group named Right Thinkers, wherein he used to have conversation with many.
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