Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri
A new video from Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri will set the alarm bells off in India. In the video, al-Zawahiri announces Osama Bin Laden's notorious terror group's new wing in the subcontinent. The message comes as youth worldwide are turning to militant Islam and tuning in to Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Youth from America, Pakistan, England, Australia and even India are known to have moved to join the "jihad" in Iraq and Syria. US intelligence officials estimate 140 Americans are fighting with the IS in Iraq and Syria. 500 Britons are estimated to be fighting with the IS and Americans, UK nationals as well as an Indian are reported to have died fighting.
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In the video message, Ayman al Zawahiri is seen saying, "We want Islam to return to the Indian subcontinent, which was part of the Muslim world before it was invaded. It will serve the Muslims in Burma, Kashmir, Gujarat, Bangladesh, Ahmedabad and Assam."
Asim Umar, chief of Al Qaeda's Sharia Committee for Pakistan, has been named the leader of the new group, called the Qaedat al-Jihad. Another leader, Ustad Usama Mahmoud is named the spokesperson. Umar released a video earlier this year in urdu calling for a fight to liberate Kashmir.
Al Qaeda was formed in 1988 by Osama Bin Laden, Zawahiri and Dr Fadl. It gained momentum as a jihadi organisation in the 1990s after the first Gulf war. Its first terror attack took place in December 1992 - a bomb attack at a hotel in Aden which killed two persons. The first big terror attack was a bomb attack in the World Trade Centre in 1992, which killed six persons and injured around 1000.
But the notorious terror group, whose high point came with the 9/11 twin tower attack in the US and the Pentagon attack as well as another hijack that failed to hit the Capitol, has been a shadow of its former self after the death of Osama Bin Laden in May 2011 in a US operation in Pakistan.
While Al Qaeda has offshoots in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the breaking away of the Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS or ISIL) in January 2014 has seen its global jihadi leadership claims plummet. The splintering and rise of IS has been bitter for Qaeda and its current chief, Bin Laden's right hand man al Zawahiri.
Still regarded as a threat, the group is currently active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where its surviving leadership is thought to be hiding.
But even in the Af-Pak region, Zawahiri has been forced to watch growing support for the IS. A number of hardline groups operating in the border areas of Pakistan have already announced support for Baghdadi.
While the odd poster of Al Qaeda has surfaced in Kashmir from time to time, the group has never been able to gain a foothold in India. With the new group "Qaedat al-Jihad" which aims to fight in India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, Zawahiri is attempting to break new ground.
In this effort, Zawahiri is also banking on Afghanistan's Taliban. In the video, he renews his loyalty to the Taliban chief, saying, "Establishing Al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent is the result of two years of work to unify the Mujahideen. The rise of this new branch demonstrates that jihad under the leadership of Amir of Believers, Mullah Omar (head of the Afghan Taliban) is expanding."
The current leader of Al Qaeda, Ayman al Zawahiri had been trained as a surgeon before he joined Osama bin Laden. The US State Department has offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading to his capture. Though, Al Qaeda has not been able to repeat its spectacular 9/11 feat, the U.S. still has the maximum reward for Zawahiri. The Rewards for Justice Programme offers $10 million for IS 'Caliph Ibrahim'-- Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Mullah Omar, India's most wanted Hafiz Saeed and Haqqani network head Sirajuddin.
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