Modi on al-Qaedas hit list?

New Delhi: The al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) in its new propaganda video has mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name.

In the May 2 video titled ‘From France to Bangladesh: The Dust Will Never Settle Down’, AQIS chief Asim Umar mentioned the PM when he says that there is a war going on against Muslims “through World Bank and IMF policies, drone attacks, Charlie Hebdo’s writings, UN charter, official sermons by muftis and Narendra Modi’s utterances.”

Indian intelligence officials said the report is being analysed.

The nine minute video was posted by the terror outfit’s media publicity wing As-Sahab productions.

The group also claimed responsibility for the death of four Bangladeshi bloggers, including that of Avijit Roy, a Bangladesh-born American writer who was hacked to death by two machete-wielding assailants in Dhaka on February 27.

A professed atheist, Roy posted articles profusely in his popular blog Mukto-Mona (Free Mind).

The other Bangladeshi bloggers whose deaths the group has claimed responsibility for are Oyasiqur Rahman Babu, Rajib Haider and AKM Shafiul Islam, who taught at Rajshahi University.

“The killing mission started in Pakistan with the murder of the secular Dr Shakeel Auj and blogger Aneeqa Naz,” Umar says.

The formation of AQIS was announced last year by al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri where he mentioned Burma, Bangladesh and Assam as some of the key areas of operation of the new group headed by Asim Umar.

While some media reports have said that Umar is possibly of north Indian origin and migrated to Pakistan in the nineties, Indian intelligence agencies say there is nothing to substantiate the claim.

Last year, when Modi was probed about the formation of Qaeda’s Indian wing, he had said, “My understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the Muslims of our country. If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional.”