As many as 11 people from two families in Kerala’s Kasaragod district have reportedly gone missing from Dubai, and their family members fear they may have joined the Islamic State group, Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday. District Superintendent of Police Dr A Sreenivas said an investigation has been launched.

Abdul Hamid, a resident of Chemnad village in Kasargod, said in a police complaint that six people, including his 28-year-old daughter Nazeera, have been missing since June 15, India Today reported.

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A second complaint names Nazeera’s 35-year-old husband Mohamad Sabad, his second wife Rahanath and their three young children. Sabad reportedly ran a mobile repair and perfume shop in Dubai.

“Sabad seemed a little radicalised, given how he would always talk about the so-called holy war,” one of Nazeera’s relatives told Hindustan Times. “We fear he may have slipped into Yemen with 10 others, including his two wives and eight children.”

Another unidentified relative said he had received an audio message from Sabad, saying he had joined a religious school in Yemen and would be back after completing his course. The police have not yet verified this claim.

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As many as 15 young men from Kannur district reportedly joined the Islamic State in 2017. Six of them were killed in Syria, and five were arrested. Four of them are still in the West Asian country. The police confirmed the death of one of the six – 30-year-old Abdul Manaf – in January. Manaf was a local leader of the Kerala-based Popular Front India, and worked at its Delhi office before joining the terrorist group.

In March, a National Investigation Agency court in Kochi convicted an operative of the Islamic State for helping the men join the terrorist group. The court sentenced Yasmeen Mohammad Zahid, a native of Bihar, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000.