Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has announced in a videoed message the creation of an Indian branch of his militant group to "raise the flag of jihad" across South Asia.
基地组织领导人艾曼·扎瓦赫里在一段视频中宣布，将要在印度建立基地组织分部以在整个南亚地区“升起圣战的旗帜”。
Ayman al-Zawahiri wants al-Qaeda to be the world's foremost jihadist group
In the 55-minute video posted online, Zawahiri pledged renewed loyalty to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
Correspondents say his stated allegiance is an apparent snub to Islamic State (IS) militants.
IS is challenging al-Qaeda to lead worldwide Islamist militancy.
Announcing the formation of "al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" using a mixture of his native Arabic and Urdu widely spoken in Pakistan, Zawahiri appeared eager to regain some of the limelight, correspondents say.
"[Al-Qaeda] is an entity that was formed to promulgate the call of the reviving imam, Sheikh Osama BinLaden. May Allah have mercy upon him," Zawahiri said.
He urged the "umma", or Muslim nation, to "wage jihad against its enemies, to liberate its land, to restore its sovereignty and to revive its caliphate".
Zawahiri said "al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" would be good news for Muslims in Burma, Bangladesh and in the Indian states of Assam, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, where they would be rescued from injustice and oppression.
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