In a chilling video message released by Al-Qaeda's media arm, terrorist leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the creation of a new branch of the organization in South Asia.
According to a translation provided by the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor of Washington DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the new organization called, "Al-Qaeda Jihad Organization in South Asia" will be reportedly headed by militant commander Maulana Asim Umar. Another militant, Usama Mahmood, is named as "Spokesman, Al-Qaeda Jihad Organization in South Asia".
The video released on September 3 in both Arabic and Urdu voiceover shows Al-Zawahiri calling on Muslims to "wage jihad against its enemies, to liberate its land, to restore its sovereignty and to revive its caliphate."
Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right hand man, who has been heading the organisation since he was killed in 2011, said, "We want Islam to return to the Indian subcontinent, which was part of the Muslim world before it was invaded. It will serve Muslims in Burma, Kashmir, Gujarat, Bangladesh, Ahmedabad and Assam."
In the video, Zawahiri goes on to say, "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.
