Pak Taliban faction welcomes new Al-Qaeda branch

ISLAMABAD, Sept 5 (AFP) : A new breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban on Friday welcomed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri's announcement of the launch of a South Asian branch of the terror network.
Zawahiri announced the new "Al-Qaeda in the subcontinent" operation in a video message, saying it would take the fight to Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, which has a large but traditionally moderate Muslim population.
Indian authorities said they were taking the move seriously and put several states on high alert on Thursday.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the new Pakistani Taliban bloc, named Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Jamat-ul-Ahrar, hailed Zawahiri's call.
"We welcome the new announcement of the subcontinent branch of Al-Qaeda. We believe that the branch will work hard for the achievement of the rights of Muslims in the subcontinent," Ehsan said in a message posted on Twitter and Facebook.
Ehsan said rights of Muslims in the region could only be achieved through Islamic sharia law and the establishment of a caliphate.
Asim Umar, the head of the newly-created South Asia branch of Al-Qaeda, is a Pakistani ideologue who has produced a number of online calls to jihad but has a relatively low profile.
Umar has appeared wearing a black turban and beard in several online videos produced by Al-Qaeda and the TTP.