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Washington:
Al-Qaeda within the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), a globally-banned terror group, is now in all probability able to solely small-scale regional assaults, a prime American counter-terrorism official instructed lawmakers on Thursday.
AQIS was arrange by al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2014 to develop the fear group’s affect within the area.
“In South Asia, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has struggled to rebound from the death of its leader, Asim Umar, in a US military raid in Afghanistan in September 2019 and is probably only capable of small-scale regional attacks,” Christopher Miller Director, National Counter-terrorism Center, instructed a Senate committee.
Testifying earlier than the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on the “Threats to the Homeland”, the highest American counter-terrorism official mentioned that in mid-March, AQIS revealed a particular challenge of Nawai Afghan Jihad praising the US-Taliban settlement, which mirrored al-Qaeda’s leaders” statements on the deal.
“Finally, al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan has been reduced to a few dozen fighters who are primarily focused on their survival, and are probably incapable of conducting attacks outside the country under sustained CT pressure,” Mr Miller mentioned.
According to Mr Miller, for the reason that Global War on Terror started almost 20 years in the past, the US has considerably degraded terrorist adversaries and made the US a significantly tougher goal for them to succeed in.
“Today’s terrorism threat to the US and our allies is less acute but more diffuse — emanating from more groups in more places than it did in 2001,” he mentioned.
While continued counter-terrorism strain has degraded the group’s Afghanistan-Pakistan senior management, within the close to time period, al-Qaeda is extra prone to deal with constructing its worldwide associates and supporting small-scale, readily achievable assaults in key areas resembling East and West Africa, mentioned FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“Simultaneously, over the last year, propaganda from al-Qaeda leaders seeks to inspire individuals to conduct their own attacks in the US and the West. For example, the December 2019 attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola demonstrates that groups such as al-Qaeda continue to be interested in encouraging attacks on the US soil,” he mentioned.
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