A regional branch of al Qaeda urged Muslims in India to revolt and carry out lone wolf attacks, a U.S. monitoring site reported, days after the rival jihadi movement Islamic State claimed responsibility for Bangladesh’s worst militant attack.
The call by al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) follows warnings by security officials and experts that the two groups are trying to outdo each other in the region and claim the mantle of global jihad.
An online audio message purportedly from Asim Umar, the head of AQIS, said Indian Muslims must follow the example of youths in Europe and strike against Indian police and senior officials, holding them responsible for communal violence.
“Start Jihad with the strength which Allah has already granted you. Kill the senior officers of institutions and administrative departments that get (people to) start these riots,” AQIS said, according to U.S. intelligence group SITE.
In it, AQIS said Muslims were present in every part of India and must use their strength to reclaim power in a country they ruled for centuries.
“Even if you come out carrying merely knives and swords then, history bears witness, Hindus cannot withstand you,” Umar said.