South Asia al-Qaida group video claims responsibility for blogger murders
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Version 0 of 1. The al-Qaida affiliate in south Asia has claimed responsibility for the murders of a series of bloggers and a moderate Islamic scholar in the region. In a nine-minute video, released by al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (Aqis) and produced by al-Qaida central’s own As Sahab production house, the head of the local group, Maulana Asim Umar, claims to “have recently assassinated several blasphemers of the Prophet and insulters of Islamic law.” The formation of the new affiliate was announced by the overall leader of al-Qaida, Ayman al’Zawahiri, last year. Related: Al-Qaida leader announces formation of Indian branch The move was widely seen as a bid to counter the growing influence of Islamic State (Isis), which has established a so-called caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria. The rivalry between the two Islamic militant organisations is intense. The new video – titled “The Dust Will Never Settle Down: From France to Bangladesh” – links the killings in south Asia to attacks in Europe earlier this year. In January, two gunmen claiming allegiance to al-Qaida killed 12 in an assault on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine in Paris that had printed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. A third gunman, claiming loyalty to Isis, gunned down four people in a kosher supermarket. Shortly afterwards, a lone extremist in Copenhagen killed two. In the video, Umar, the leader of Aqis, said “blasphemers” have now been “taught a lesson in France, Denmark, Pakistan and now in Bangladesh”. Bangladesh, which has struggled to contain Islamic extremism in recent years, was shaken earlier this year by the murder of Avijit Roy, an American citizen of local origin and atheist writer, and Washiqur Rahman, 27, died of serious injuries inflicted an assault in Dhaka in March. Related: Bangladeshis protest after atheist writer Avijit Roy hacked to death Two students at local religious schools were later detained for the attack on Rahman. In 2013 Ahmed Rajib Haider, another atheist blogger, was hacked to death outside his home in the Bangladeshi capital. Police investigators have so far found no link to any external group in any of these cases, and the new claim of responsibility from Aqis appears tenuous. The new al-Qaida affiliate has yet to execute any major attacks, though it is suspected of a failed bid to hijack a warship in Karachi last year, and is thought to be keen to boost its profile. Al-Qaida has long sought to extend its influence in south Asia, particularly Pakistan. In September last year Shakil Auj, a respected scholar of Islamic studies known for his moderate views, was shot dead in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi. The video claims “these assassinations are part of a series of operations initiated by the different branches of al-Qaida on the directions of our respected leader Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri and it is equally part of our commitment to fulfill the oath of Sheikh Osama [bin Laden].” Senior figures in Isis, which is increasingly active in south Asia and has attracted a small number of local volunteers, have said that they are following the legacy of bin Laden, killed by US special forces in Pakistan in May 2011, not the remaining al-Qaida leaders. Both groups have appealed to followers in the west to launch so-called “lone wolf” attacks where they live. Support for violent extremist organisationssuch as al-Qaida still remains marginal among the more than half billion Muslims in the region. |