The chant in Urdu is an eerily fitting tribute that explains Ashraf alias Umar Kashmiri's long journey for jihad and martyrdom from his native home in Anantnag in Kashmir to the unruly warzone of the tribal region of North Waziristan.
Sitting in a meeting of Mujaheedins, somewhere in the hills of Shawal valley, Muhammad Ashraf appears calm and at home as he sings a nasheed "jigar ki pyaas lahoo se bujhake aaya hoo/ mein teri raah mein gardan katane aaya hoo.''
The chant in Urdu is an eerily fitting tribute that explains Ashraf alias Umar Kashmiri's long journey for jihad and martyrdom from his native home in Anantnag in Kashmir to the unruly warzone of the tribal region of North Waziristan.
Not long after the video was shot, Kashmiri was killed in a US drone attack in January this year along with Qari Imran, a senior leader and central council member of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). While the attack is ten months old, information about Kashmiri and his nationality has only surfaced recently. Until now no Indian national was killed in US drone attack.
The veracity of the video could not be confirmed, but if true, this is the first time that an Indian national Kashmiri is linked to the global al Qaeda. Last September al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri floated the AQIS with a regional focus in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Myanmar. The outfit is headed by Indian born cleric Asim Umar, who previously fought with Harkat ul Mujaheedin and trained militants in PoK to fight against Indian armed forces in Kashmir.
``So far there is no case of a local Kashmiri joining AQ or AQIS,'' IGP, Kashmir, Javaid Geelani told dna. "The details are very sketchy and till now, no family from Anantnag has come forward to report on the dead in Pakistan,'' he said adding the police is verifying from records on details of any Umar Kashmiri.
Uploaded by As-Sahab, the media arm of AQIS on Jihadi networks and sites, the video is being circulated as part of the series `Jihadi memories' eulogising its martyrs.
Dressed in a military olive green shalwar-kameez with a Palestinian keffiyeh wrapped on his shoulders and a colourful embroidered skull cap worn in the tribal regions of Afghanistan-Pakistan region, Kashmiri appears in a three and a half minute video, singing the nasheed. He is also seen laughing, picking up mulberries that grow amply in the mountainous region, praying and loading a rocket along with other fighters. But mainly, he is singing about the sacrifice he is ready to make in the path of Jihad. "All the hoors and angels are waiting to welcome/With the crown of martyrdom on my head I came.''
Kashmiri's death came in the early hours of January 4 this year in Lawarha area of Shawal region in North Waziristan, when a missile from an unmanned US plane hit a compound of a Uzbek militant leader known only by his first name Usman. At least six people were killed.
Al Qaeda later confirmed that the dead included Punjabi Taliban commander leader Qari Imran aka Qari Ubaidullah. He was also in-charge of al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
The dead were initially reported as Uzbek nationals and members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Taliban (TTP) associated group loyal to veteran commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur. However, the AQIS video confirms that at least one of the five dead is an Indian.
The US drone strikes have killed an estimated 50 AQIS fighters, including two senior leaders, Qari Imran and deputy leader, Ustad Ahmad Farooq.
The Shawal valley is infested with militants of different tribal outfits -- the Pakistan army's operation Zarb-e-Azb has killed more than 200 militants here – and is a stronghold of the TTP which has its headquarters in Waziristan. The TTP is an affiliate of the al Qaeda network and shares close ties in leadership and operational aspects.
According to Indian intelligence, the home-grown outfit of Indian Mujaheedin which has shifted its leadership in Pakistan, since its cells were dismantled here, has been in training with the TTP in North Waziristan. Led by the Bhatkal brothers, the IM spilt in two last year with one faction supporting al Qaeda and other under the banner of the Ansar-ul-Tawhid cosying up to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Many Indian origin fighters either linked with IM or through the militant groups associated with Kashmir conflict who cross the border for arms training in the Pakistan controlled Kashmir region, are believed to be present in North Waziristan.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "militant")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}