Just two days after a deadly terrorist attack at a popular Dhaka café killed 20 people, Al-Qaeda has asked Indians to carry out lone-wolf terror attacks in the country.
According to a report, the head of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) Asim Umar, issued a statement “inciting Indian Muslims to rise up and to follow the example of lone-wolves in Europe and kill administrative and police officers in India”.
The report has been published by the US-based SITE intelligence groups which tracks terror networks across the world.
Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri announced the creation of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) about two years ago. Its leader Asim Umar is from India.
In his statement, Umar asserted that Indian states and their departments were equally responsible for incidents targeting Muslims in India.
“Otherwise how could anyone dare to just take knives and cut Muslims like vegetables? We say if the Indian state is not involved in the massacre of Muslims, then Muslim youth should also be given free hand, as given to Hindu mobsters during riots,” the US-based SITE intelligence group said in its statement quoting Umar.
Provoking Indian Muslims to start jihad in the country, Umar said, “Kill senior officers of institutions and administrative departments that get (people to) start these riots. Target IPS and IAS officers, cause them financial losses.”
According to counter-terror officials, Umar, whose original name is Sanaul Haq, is from Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh.
Taking note of the statement, National Investigation Agency chief Sharad Kumar said, “We will analyse the statement.”
The US state department designated AQIS a ‘foreign terrorist organisation’ and Umar a ‘global terrorist’ only a few days ago.
The development comes barely days after seven suspected ISIS militants slaughtered 20 civilians, including an Indian woman, inside the Hooley Artisan bakery situated in Dhaka’s high-security diplomatic zone.
Incidentally, dreaded terror group ISIS is also reportedly planning to launch attacks in India through its bases in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
