ISIS threatens to carry out attacks in India, Bangladesh; names new 'emir'

05/03/2019

Days after a spate of suicide attacks on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka that killed over 250 people, the Islamic State affiliate group has issued a direct threat to carry out attacks in India and Bangladesh. According to a report by The Times of India, the ISIS has appointed Abu Muhammed al-Bengali as a new 'emir' (chief) in Bangladesh.

“If you think you have silenced the soldiers of the Khilafa in Bengal and Hind and you are certain about that then listen we men are never to be silenced.. And are thirst for revenge is never to be faded away (sic),” the TOI report quoted the ISIS poster as saying.

The new security threat comes a day after the ISIS carried out minor explosion near a cinema hall theatre in Dhaka. The explosion did not result in any casualties but a few policemen sustained injuries in the blast.

The militant group released the poster just a day after its media outlet published a video message of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who claimed that the recent Easter bombings in Sri Lanka were a response to the losses faced by the terror group in its last territorial stronghold of Baghouz in Syria.

In the video titled "In the Hospitality of the Emir of the Believers," Baghdadi was seen sitting alongside three other ISIS members whose faces are blurred, next to a rifle and ammunition belt. He praised the recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka and called it "revenge" for Baghouz — the small Syrian village where Isis made its last stand.

The increase in circulation of IS-related material in different languages have alerted agencies. The Indian intelligence is closely inspecting the developments in Bangladesh and they fear that the attacks could take place either in West Bengal or Bangladesh.

According to a development reported by the TOI, pro-IS Telegram channels had circulated a poster on 25th April in Bengali saying "Coming soon" which had logo of a group called 'al Mursalat'.

Source: business-standard.com