Al-Qaeda has announced a new branch in the Indian subcontinent, the SITE intelligence group said on Wednesday.

Al-Qaeda has announced a new branch in the Indian subcontinent, the SITE intelligence group said on Wednesday.

In a video released by al Qaeda’s media arm, As-Sehbab, the group’s chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri announced the creation of “Qaedat al-Jihad.”

Chief of al Qaeda’s 'Shariah' Committee for Pakistan, Asim Umar, will be the leader of the new branch. Ustad Usama Mahmoud will be the branch’s spokesperson.

The focus of the new branch is belived to be on Burma, Bangladesh, Assam (India), Ahmadabad (India) and Kashmir.

Zawahiri said the new force would “crush the artificial borders” dividing Muslim populations in the region.

“This entity was not established today but is the fruit of a blessed effort of more than two years to gather the 'mujahideen' in the Indian sub-continent into a single entity,” he said in a video partly in his native Arabic and partly in Urdu.