Al-Qaeda arm ‘ideologically inclined’ to carry out attacks in India: UN report

But its capability is believed to be relatively low due to increased security

Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), set up by Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2014 to expand the terror group’s influence in the region, is “ideologically inclined” to carry out attacks inside India but its capability is believed to be low and is relatively isolated owing to increased security measures, according to a UN report.

The AQIS, the Al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate, is led by Asim Umar – an Indian and former member of Harkat-ulJihad al-Islami.

The 22nd report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, submitted to the UN Security Council Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, said that AQIS is “relatively isolated owing to increased security measures within the wider region, but the group continues to seek security gaps for opportunistic attacks.” The group is “ideologically inclined to carry out attacks inside India but its capability is believed to be low,” it said, adding that according to Member States, the strength of AQIS in Afghanistan is estimated at several hundred people, located in Laghman, Paktika, Kandahar, Ghazni and Zabul provinces.

In September 2014, Zawahiri had announced the creation of Al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate AQIS, taking advantage of sanctuaries in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“A new branch of Al-Qaeda was established — Qaeda alJihad in the Indian subcontinent, seeking to raise the flag of jihad,...and return the Islamic rule across the Indian subcontinent,” Zawahiri had said at the time.

An earlier report had said that fighters of AQIS operate as advisers and trainers of the Taliban, with 150 to 180 operatives present in southern and eastern Afghanistan.