The rise of the Islamic State group may be forcing al Qaeda to speed up some of its plans. The terrorist group has announced the formation of a new branch called “Qaedat al-Jihad in the Indian Subcontinent,” but insisted that the plan has been in development for more than two years.
“A new branch of al-Qaeda was established and is Qaedat al-Jihad in the Indian Subcontinent, seeking to raise the flag of jihad, return the Islamic rule, and empowering the Shariah of Allah across the Indian subcontinent,” al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri says in a video posted online, the non-profit organization The Long War Journal reported Wednesday.
The new group, which will operate in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir, will report to Mullah Omar, the head of the Afghan Taliban.
Asim Umar, the new emir of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, says in the video that the new branch aims to use jihad to “give a final push to the collapsing edifice of America,” The Long War Journal reported. He added that “lives are being sacrificed in this jihad to defeat America and its allies everywhere.”
Al Qaeda’s video also asserted that members of the terrorist organization were going to Syria to find ways of working with ideologically aligned groups, the non-profit organization reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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