while his comments raised concerns in india , al - qaida 's profile in the wake of repeated successes by the islamic state militant group .
counter - terrorism experts say al - qaida has expanded into india , the leader of the terror group said would spread islamic law to the entire subcontinent .
zawahri described the formation of " al qaeda in the indian subcontinent " as a glad tidings for muslims " in burma , bangladesh , assam , gujurat , ahmedabad , and kashmir " and said the new wing would rescue muslims there from injustice and oppression .
dubai al qaeda leader ayman al zawahri on wednesday announced the formation of an indian branch of his militant group he said would spread islamic rule and " raise the flag of jihad " across the subcontinent .
the new group " is the fruit of a blessed effort of more than two years to gather the mujahedeen in the indian subcontinent into a single entity , " al - qaida chief ayman al - zawahri said in the video , which was seen online by the site monitoring group .
in a 55 - minute video posted online , zawahri also renewed a longstanding vow of loyalty to afghan taliban leader mullah omar , in an apparent snub to the islamic state armed group challenging al qaeda for leadership of transnational islamist militancy .
at least three indian states with large muslim populations have been put on alert in the wake of the video 's release , local tv stations reported , though there was no indication of an increased security presence .
founded by osama bin laden , who was killed in pakistan by us commandos in may 2011 , al - qaeda has long claimed leadership of the self - declared jihadists fighting to restore a single caliphate in muslim lands .
in a video spotted in online " jihadist " forums on wednesday by the site terrorism monitoring group , zawahiri said the new force would " crush the artificial borders " dividing muslim populations in the region .