Al-Qaeda Allegedly Hacks Indian Railways, Leaves ‘Join the Jihad’ Message

A website belonging to Indian Railways was hacked on Tuesday, replacing the page of a personnel director with a message purportedly from Maulana Aasim Umar, al-Qaeda’s top operative in south Asia.

According to NDTV, the document deposited by the hackers ran to 11 pages in length, with the lowlight being a call to jihad for Indian Muslims.

“Will the land of Delhi not give birth to a Shah Muhadith Delhvi who may once again teach the Muslims of India the forgotten lesson of Jihad and inspire them to take to the battlefields of Jihad?” the message from Umar asked. “Is there no successor left of the group that drenched itself in blood at Balakot, who possesses the spirit of rising in rebellion against a system based on disbelief and offering one’s life for Allah?”

Balakot was the site of a battle between an army of Muslims and Sikhs, after Muslims living in the area complained of persecution under Sikh rule. It has been described as the first jihad launched by the strict Wahabbi sect of Islam. The Muslims lost, badly.

The Indian Express reports hackers claiming to work for al-Qaeda also hit the website of the National Jute Manufacturers Corporation Ltd. on Tuesday. The attack on Indian Railways is said to be the first time an Indian government page has been hacked by al-Qaeda.