Al Qaida leader is seen in video after rumours of death

A RARE video has appeared of al Qaida’s chief praising an Indian Muslim woman who defied a ban on hijab wearing in February – the first proof he is alive in years.

Rumours of the death of Ayman al-Zawahri, inset, have circulated for more than two years but, in a video released on Tuesday and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, the recluse praises Muskan Khan, who defied a ban on the wearing of the hijab in schools in India’s southwestern state of Karnataka.

She shouted “God is great” as Hindu radical students jeered at her over the Islamic headscarf.

In March, the court in India’s Karnataka state upheld the ban, outraging civil activists and Muslim groups in India and elsewhere.

Previous videos of Mr al-Zawahri did not clearly identify when they were recorded, fuelling speculation about his deteriorating health and even death.

There is no clear indication of Mr al-Zawahri’s location in the latest video.

He is shown in a traditional white head scarf beside a poster praising “the noble woman of India”.

However, it raises the spectre of al Qaida having a presence in Afghanistan and highlights concerns over the commitment of the ruling Taliban to fight terrorist groups and deny them space in the country.

Mr al-Zawahri took over al Qaida after the 2011 death of Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US Navy Seals during a nighttime raid deep inside Pakistan where he was hiding. Bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 attacks in the US, was found in the garrison town of Abbottabad, barely 60 miles from the capital Islamabad.

Mr al-Zawahri has been rumoured to be in Afghanistan’s northwestern Kunar and Badakhshan provinces on the border with Pakistan.

The region is lined with inhospitable mountain ranges that have served as redoubts for terrorist groups.

Amir Rana, executive director of the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies think-tank, said Mr al-Zawahri was also rumoured to be in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, where many Taliban leaders long maintained homes during Afghanistan’s 20-year war.

“He was even rumoured to have died in Karachi,” said Mr Rana, adding that regardless of his location, Mr al-Zawahri’s video is certain to cause headaches for the ruling Taliban with the international community.