Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has issued a statement condemning Operation Sindoor and calling for renewed jihad across the region.
Operation Sindoor, launched by Indian armed forces on Wednesday, involved coordinated missile strikes on nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). According to Indian officials, the operation was a direct response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives in one of the region’s deadliest assaults in recent years.
AQIS, in its statement, denounced the operation and labeled it a broader assault on Muslims in the region. “For all the Mujahideen of Islam and the Muslims of the Subcontinent, this war against India is Jihad Fi Sabilillah,” the group declared. “It is a duty upon us to engage in this struggle to raise the Word of Allah, defend Islam and Muslims, and support the oppressed people of the Subcontinent.”
The group further alleged that Indian forces bombed six locations in Pakistan on the night of May 6, 2025, targeting mosques and civilian areas. AQIS claimed that the strikes resulted in the deaths and injuries of several Muslims, framing the incident as yet another example of what it called the “Bhagwa” government’s aggression against Muslims.
The statement marks an attempt by AQIS to capitalize on the regional unrest and mobilize support under the banner of religious resistance, amid growing concerns of further escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
