Kerala missing youths feared to have joined IS

At least 15 youths from Kerala's Kasaragod and Palakkad districts who had travelled to the Middle East have gone missing for the last one month and their families suspect they may have joined the so called Islamic State.

The families of the youths, including a couple, fear that they have been radicalised after having gone to the Middle East for religious studies.

Local officials said that during Eid, the parents of two missing youths received 'Whatsapp' messages revealing their joining of the terror group.

A local MP told PTI that all those missing were below the age of 30 and highly qualified.

State Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the police to launch a probe into the matter urgently.