Al-Qaeda's Financial Tactics in South Asia

Group Profile

Hello Insight Monitor subscribers! I’m happy to report that our little newsletter continues to grow and attract plenty of new subscribers. We appreciate every share, comment and like — they all help us grow our audience. If you want a little more terrorist financing news, you can join me at the AML Rightsource webinar happening on 28 March. I hope to see you there. Now, let’s dig into Al Qaeda in South Asia’s financing.

~Jess

In September 2014, al-Qaeda announced the establishment of a new affiliate in South Asia, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). AQIS was intended to operate across Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, but the group has failed to carry out large-scale attacks and has faced difficulty garnering support. Despite its challenges, AQIS continues to use resources to recruit new operatives and attempts to instigate insurgencies throughout the region. Keep reading to learn more about what AQIS spends its money on as well as other financial characteristics of the group.

Operations

AQIS is led by Osama Mehmood and is reported to have around 200 fighters. The group is based in Pakistan but maintains a presence in several Afghan provinces where it participates in combat alongside the Taliban. AQIS fighters, primarily from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Pakistan, have targeted government officials as well as secular bloggers, campaigners, and publishers.  The group gained notoriety for killing activists, such as hacking two LGBTQ media figures to death in 2016.