Kasargode: In an alarming incident, at least 15 Muslims from Kerala are reportedly missing from the Middle East where they had gone recently for pilgrimage.

According to reports, the missing included five married couples, one of them with a two-year-old child. Out of 15, 11 hail from Padana and Trikaripur in Kasargod, while the remaining four are from Palakkad district.

Last week, some of their relatives received messages on WhatsApp from unknown numbers, which said the missing people have reached the place of “divine rule… Islamic State”.

One mobile number from which the message was sent had the country code of Afghanistan, while another messaged that he was near Syria border.

On Friday, P Karunakaran, MP from Kasaragod, met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and sought an investigation into the whole incident.

The daily has quoted sources as saying that the 15 left their homes for the Middle East on different days in the last one month. However, they are believed to have been in touch with each other.