Dr Ramamurthy Kosanam, who was freed by the Indian government from the Islamic State group in Libya, on Sunday said the militant organisation was “interested” in the South Asian nation, ANI reported. Ramamurthy said the Islamic State militants were well-educated youngsters and knew how India had developed in education and economy.

“They [Islamic State] are interested in India…they want to spread their ideology to other parts of the world, including India,” he said. The doctor said he saw suicide bombers as young as 10-year-olds.

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Dr Kosanam went to Libya from Andhra Pradesh 18 years ago and was put in jail by the Islamic State group in 2015. He was freed on February 14 after Indian embassy officials found out about his kidnapping. Dr Kosanam thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and other officials who helped him in his release. “I will never every forget this all my life…These people worked so hard to pull me out from there,” he said.

Dr Kosanam said he was forced to watch the videos of what the Islamic State did in Iraq, Syria and Nigeria. “They forced me to watch their gory activities...It was a bit difficult to watch them,” he said. The Islamic State militants taught him and the other captives about Islam and how to pray five times a day, the doctor added.

He said even though he was trained in medicaine but not surgery, he was posted in the operation theatre at a hospital in Sirte in Libya. While working at the camp, he was shot at in his left hand and both legs. He was admitted to the ICU and was being treated by the Islamic State’s head doctor.

One day, when the military forces came closer to the building he was staying in with four others, he shouted for help. They were rescued and put up in a military camp for about a month before they contacted their respective embassies, he said.