Burhan Wani`s successor Zakir Musa is head of al Qaeda cell in Kashmir: Report

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.

New Delhi: Former Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zakir Musa, who is active in Kashmir, has been appointed as head of a newly created Al Qaeda cell, a report said on Thursday.

As per 'The Guardian' report, Musa will be heading the Qaeda's Kashmir wing 'Ansar Ghazwat-Ul-Hind'.

The announcement was made by the Global Islamic Media Front, a media wing of the global terror outfit and its allied jihadist groups across the world.

Though there have been speculations earlier that Qaeda was making inroads in Kashmir, this is the first official confirmation from the terror network about its presence in the state.

Musa was earlier heading the Hizbul Mujahideen. He, however, 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.

In an audio tape that was released in June, 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".