WASHINGTON: Al-Qaida is getting more active in the Indian subcontinent and by 2017, it boasted several hundred members, with its cells mostly in Afghanistan and its operatives flourishing in Bangladesh, counter-terrorism experts have told the US lawmakers. "By 2017, al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent boasted several hundred members and had cells in Afghanistan's Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul, Paktika, Ghazni, and Nuristan Provinces. "Al-Qaida operatives in Bangladesh were particularly active, conducting a range of attacks. "A new branch of al-Qaida was established - Qaida al-Jihad in the Indian subcontinent, seeking to raise the flag of jihad,...and return the Islamic rule across the Indian subcontinent," al-Zawahiri had said.The group was led by Asim Umar-- an Indian and former member of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami - a Pakistan-based terrorist group with branches across the Indian subcontinent. The Pashtun are part of its Khorasan theater, which includes Afghanistan and Iran, and the Punjab is under al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), which works through the Indian Punjab and Bangladesh, Zimmerman said.

Source: Times of India July 14, 2017 05:29 UTC