THE BATTLE BETWEEN AL QAEDA AND ISIS FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THE GLOBAL JIHADIST MOVEMENT Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri recently announced that Al Qaeda has expanded into the Indian subcontinent. He said in a video statement that a regional group had been formed that he vowed would bring Islamic law to the region and wage jihad against its enemies. Some analysts saw the announcement as an effort to revive the fortunes of Al Qaeda, which has been largely eclipsed, at least publicly, by Isis, also known as the Islamic State. Isis was kicked out of Al Qaeda in February for ignoring al-Zawahiri’s insistence that it restrict its activities to Iraq’s borders. The separation, however, far from diminishing the group, marked the start of its terrifying expansion. Over the past few months it has rampaged across Iraq and Syria, capturing dozens of towns and strategic positions, killing hundreds of civilians and waging a well-organised online propaganda war. Its ranks have been bolstered by hundreds of fighters from Yemen, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Western nations such as Britain, America and Australia. Al Qaeda has been side-lined as a result, jihadists seemingly far more impressed by Isis’ leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his brutal confrontations with those people deemed to be ‘Un-Islamic’ than al-Zawahiri, who hasn’t been able to dictate events in recent years. However, the West ignores Al Qaeda at its peril. The terrorist organisation still has strongholds in eastern Libya, Syria and the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and has significant alliances with the likes of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Read more: dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2749762/Blast-Syria-kills-28-leaders-Islamist-group-monitor.html#ixzz3CubhsVuJ Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 11:41:25 +0000
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