SRINAGAR, India (AP) -- A man claiming to represent al-Qaida in Kashmir said the terror network had set up a wing in Kashmir and appealed to Indian Muslims to take up jihad, an Indian news agency reported Thursday. An official said the government said it was taking the claim "very seriously." The man, who identified himself as Abu al-Hadeed, told Kashmir's Current News Service that "who so ever has carried out the attacks in Bombay we express our gratitude and happiness."
As word of the announcement spread, a senior intelligence official in Kashmir said the call had been placed from a local landline phone that authorities were trying to trace. "Our immediate effort is to locate the caller and ascertain the authenticity of the claim," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media. "The government is taking it very seriously." It was impossible to independently verify the caller's identity and if he actually represents a new wing of al-Qaida.
There have been allegations that Islamic militants fighting to wrest predominantly Muslim Kashmir from India have ties to al-Qaida, but Thursday's statement is the first time Osama bin Laden's network has claimed to have spread to the Indian territory. | Must have just opened a office |
"We appeal to Muslims in India to fight for freedom and Islam and choose jihad as their way to achieve freedom and establishing Islamic ways," al-Hadeed was quoted as saying. He added the Bombay bombings "are a reaction to what is happening to the minorities, especially Muslims in India."
Al-Hadeed identified the network's Kashmir leader as Abu Abdul Rehman al-Ansari. Both names are Arabic, not Urdu, the language spoken by most of Muslims in India and Pakistan. Current News said al-Hadeed spoke in Urdu. But he reportedly said: "Henceforth our statements will be in Arabic." | Cuz it's the Holy Language of the true leaders of islam. Everybody else are just tools to be used. It sounds arrogant enough to be al-Qaida |
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