Who is Asim Umar, the Head of al Qaeda's India unit?

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri on Wednesday announced the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group that he said would spread Islamic rule and “raise the flag of jihad” across the subcontinent. In a 55-minute video posted online, Zawahiri described the formation of “al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent” as a glad tidings for Muslims “in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir” Zawahiri said the new wing would rescue Muslims there from injustice and oppression. [caption id=“attachment_1696465” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Al Qaeda’s Asim Umar is seen in this video grab as released by SITE[/caption] Heading the operation in India will be Maulana Asim Umar, one of the two prominent leaders of al Qaeda’s South Asia unit. Considered to be a long-time propagandist of the militant group and earlier been associated with the Pakistan Taliban, Umar is expected to ensure that the terror group’s relations with the Pakistani terror group are maintained. According to a report by research organisation Wilson Centre, Umar first featured in an al Qaeda film that commemorated the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The Qaeda leader has also published a book titled “The Army of Anti-Christ: Blackwater, Documentation of the Dreadful Terrorist Activities of America’s Blackwater in Islamic Countries.” In a video message last year, The Long War Journal reports, Umar called for “global jihad to give a final push to the collapsing edifice of America,” adding that “lives are being sacrificed in this jihad to defeat America and its allies everywhere.” The al Qaeda leader has also featured in previous videos seeking to further the group’s campaigns in India. Umar has also featured in videos, wherein he appeals to Indian Muslims asking that they join the global movement for jihad, the latest being June this year, as earlier reported. The video ‘War Should Continue, Message to Muslims of Kashmir’ is produced by As-Sahab, al Qaeda’s in-house media production unit shows Umar read out a message in Urdu, assuring Muslims of his help. “To wave Islam’s flag over Srinagar’s Lal Chowk… caravans are heading from Afghanistan to liberate India and it is not being done on instructions of any intelligence agency, and not as part of some governmental policy, but simply to abide God’s command…,” Umar reads, while an image of Kashmir’s Famous Dal Lake is played out. Umar also chastises the Pakistani state, its intelligence agencies, and its people for ‘failing to help the Jihad in Kashmir’. “Those (Kashmiri’s) who swore to martyrs to walk their path till their last breath and vowed to continue jihad, who convinced them to shun jihad and dream about freedom of Kashmir by resorting to protests, shutdowns and democratic ways…?” the al Qaeda leader says in the video. In July 2013, another video titled “Why is There No Storm in Your Ocean?,” translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, shows Umar telling Muslims in India “jihad does not limit itself to any specific region.” Instead, “lives are being sacrificed in this jihad to defeat America and its allies everywhere,” the Foundation for Defense of Democracies reported. In a November 2012 video, released by al Qaeda, Umar is seen discussing the history of Sharia rule in India. According to Defend Democracy, the video shows Umar blaming the British and expressing disbelief at the “stupidity” of Muslims for following “man-made” laws decades after the British withdrawal from the subcontinent, Defend Democracy reports.