Al-Qaeda fights for relevance in India

New Delhi, June 20: The al-Qaeda in the sub continent which announced its formation last year will attempt to make a fresh start in India.

Since its launch last October, the AQIS has not managed to sway the youth especially in India and to this extent the Indian Intelligence and Security agencies can claim a major victory.

However after the success the al-Qaeda had in Yemen and also the Charlie Hebdo attack, they would try and push for a similar agenda in India. The Intelligence Bureau has issued a general alert stating that Israeli nationals in India could be targeted by members of the al-Qaeda or their sympathizers.

Targeting the Israelis:

A general advisory warning of attacks on Israeli nationals was issued by the Intelligence Bureau. This is a general alert, an officer with the Intelligence Bureau stated. Some sympathizer or a member of the al-Qaeda could attempt to target Israeli nationals in a bid to make a statement, the officer also informed.

The alert has been specifically issued in the states of Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh. There are several Israeli nationals visiting these states as of now and hence this advisory had been issued.

The alert also advises the embassies of Isreal in India to enhance security and be on guard for possible attacks.The officer says that such an alert is not specific to India alone.

Similar alerts have been issued in various other parts of the world. Islamic terror groups consider Israel to be their biggest enemy and any attack on their nationals is viewed as a victory for these groups.

Message against visit to Isreal:

Another factor that is under consideration is the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel later this year.

While a majority have hailed this move, there are are some who do not view this development positively. While some Indian Muslims may protest this move, there will be extremists who would try and provoke.

Any attack on Israelis ahead of the PM's visit will be an embarrassment and hence it is necessary to up the guard the IB official also pointed out.

The Indian and Israeli intelligence wings will hold a series of meetings to ensure that the security is up to the mark. Both agencies would not want attacks in their respective countries as it could put the premiers in an embarrassing position.

The al-Qaeda gamble:

The al-Qaeda which had been written off made a come back in Yemen with a sustained fight against its enemies. It also managed to send out a loud message in the form of the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Several radicals hailed the Charlie Hebdo attack and this has changed the perception in favour of the al-Qaeda.
The al-Qaeda in India too would look to stage similar attacks in a bid to send across a message. They would pick on emotive issues so that they can get a mass movement going in their favour.

In the sub-continent, the al-Qaeda appeared to be down even before they started. The leadership in the form of both Ayman al-Zawahiri and also Asim Umar was far from impressive.

Leave alone making a mark they were not even able to hold their forces together and are battling splits each and every day. These are desperate days for the group and hence their resolve to carry out an attack with an emotive issue would do them a great deal of good.

OneIndia News