The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has busted a terror module and arrested four individuals for allegedly promoting the ideology of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). The arrests were made in a multi-state operation, with the accused involved in sharing radical content on social media to incite violence and establish 'sharia' law in India.
A new video, released by Maulana Asim Umar -- a senior leader of Al Qaeda's Pakistan cell -- urging Kashmiris to follow the footsteps of their "brothers" in Iraq and Syria and launch a jihad against India, has rung alarm bells in New Delhi.
Asim Umar, Al Qaeda's Sharia council chief, heads its operations on the sub-continent.
In the video titled 'From France to Bangladesh: The Dust Will Never Settle Down', AQIS chief Maulana Asim Umar mentioned Prime Minister Modi in the context of what he claims to be a war against Muslims.
Al Qaeda's reclusive chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, who played a central role in the 9/11 terror attacks and later created the group's regional affiliate in the Indian subcontinent, was killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan's Kabul, in the biggest blow to the global terror network since killing of its founder Osama bin Laden in 2011 in Pakistan.
There are ample indications to show that the newly launched Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent headed by Indian-born Asim Umar will seek to lay siege on India through waters rather than land.
He was the chief of the hardline political party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami.
The United States on Thursday designated Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent, a regional branch of the global terror network, as a "foreign terrorist organisation" and added its chief Asim Umar on the list of global terrorist.
Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent has claimed responsibility for the murder of an American blogger Avijit Roy in Bangladesh.
The madrassa in Akora Khattak in Nowshera district of the province is known for having several top Afghan Taliban leaders among its alumni, including former Taliban chief Mullah Omar who received an honorary doctorate from the seminary.
Jalaluddin Haqqani was closely tied to Al Qaeda leaders and had played a key role in supporting the terror group in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Two suspected operatives of Al Qaeda have been arrested in New Delhi and Odisha and Delhi Police on Wednesday claimed to have busted a module of the terror group's Indian sub-continent wing operating out of the country.
A madrassa teacher from Bengaluru has been arrested by Delhi Police for suspected links with Al Qaeda, making it the fourth arrest in its ongoing operation against the terror outfit.
In an alarming development, Al Qaeda has established a new branch to wage jihad in India, revive its caliphate and impose sharia in the Indian sub-continent.
Bangladesh on Monday said it has launched investigations into the involvement of Al-Qaeda in the killing of atheist blogger Avijit Roy.
Investigators also found that the accused, Abdul Rahman, 37, was closely related to one of the persons held in connection with the 2007 GlasgowInternationalAirport attack, but failed to gather further leads in this line of inquiry.
A 32-year-old man from Haryana's Mewat district has been arrested by Delhi Police for suspected links with Al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda, which has announced the creation of a separate wing for India, wants to portray Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an enemy of Islam and as such India should take its threat "very seriously", a well-known American counter-terror expert said on Friday even as the United States tried to downplay the terrorist outfit's capabilities.
'A resurgent Jaish could be a reflection of the Pakistani security establishment's view that with the region moving ever closer to a post-US Afghanistan, it is time to redirect attention to Kashmir.'
'India can certainly be counted on to ensure that Al Qaeda's influence doesn't grow to the point that it carves out sanctuaries.' 'The nations where Al Qaeda has built a strong presence have either suffered complete breakdowns in stability, sponsored militancy, or been failing States. None of this, of course, applies to India.'
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