The government today sought to downplay Islamic State's presence in Jammu and Kashmir, but acknowledged the resurgence of a radical group in the Valley.
There is no authoritative information about the presence of Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior home ministry official said.
The comment came in the wake of claims that the global terror organization was involved in an encounter with security forces in Srinagar wherein a terrorist, identified as Mugees, was killed and a sub-inspector, Imran Tak, lost his life.
'Amaq', which is the official news agency of Islamic State, had claimed the responsibility for the attack.
Pictures of Mugees with the Islamic State flag in the background surfaced on social media. Even his body was wrapped in the flag of the banned terror group during funeral.
However, the official said it has come to light that Mugees belonged to an extremist group called Tehrik-ul- Mujahideen and was its Pulwama district commander.
The Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen was among the first few terrorist groups that emerged at the onset of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir in the early 1990s, the official said.
It follows the ideology of Salafism which is ultra radical like Islamic State. However, the police have found no logistical connection between the two, another official said.