Al-Qaeda South Asia chief Asim Umar is reportedly killed in Afghan operation

Al-Qaeda’s South Asia chief Asim Umar, who reportedly claimed credit for a Bangladeshi writer's death, is believed to have been killed in a joint military operation in Afghanistan.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 8 Oct 2019, 06:43 PM
Updated : 8 Oct 2019, 06:56 PM

The head of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent or AQIS died in a US-Afghan operation on Sept 23, Afghanistan's intelligence agency National Directorate of Security or NDS said in a statement posted on Twitter on Tuesday.

At least 40 civilians were reported to have been killed in the same operation on a Taliban compound in Helmand province, the BBC reported.

Six other AQIS members were also killed, "most" of whom were Pakistani, the report said citing the NDS statement.

Abu Raihan, said to be Umar's "courier" to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, was named as one of those killed, according to the report.

The NDS shared pictures purportedly showing Umar both alive and dead alongside the statement.

Asim is said to be originally from India, and spent years in the town of Miranshah, a former militant stronghold in Pakistani tribal areas near the Afghan border, according to the BBC.

Bangladesh-American writer-blogger Avijit Roy was threatened by purported radicals for his secular writings

Al-Qaeda top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced in 2013 that they would form branches in South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, but their activities were not evident.

After writer-blogger Avijit Roy was murdered on Feb 26, 2015 in a brutal attack, a Tweeter handle named ‘Ansar Bangla 7’ had claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, a report on SITE Intelligence Group’s website said Asim had claimed credit for the murder of other “blasphemers”, including Roy, in Bangladesh and in Pakistan.