Former Hizbul Commander Zakir Musa appointed head of new al Qaeda cell

In a major challenge for the Indian security forces, former Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zakir Musa, who is active in Kashmir, has been appointed as head of a newly created al Qaeda cell Ansar Ghazwat-Ul-Hind.

Musa, who was earlier heading the Hizbul Mujahideen, quit the militant outfit in May 2017 after the group refused to back his statement warning that Hurriyat leaders would be beheaded for calling the Kashmir issue "political".

Musa, a dreaded militant in Kashmir, has extensively used the social media to instigate the locals against the Indian security forces and called for establishing of an Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, in an audio, which went viral on social media, Musa said he was clear in his motives of "fighting to impose a Shariat in Kashmir and not resolving the Kashmir issue by calling it a political struggle".