IB sources verified the video of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri's threat to India and announcement of the formation of an Indian branch as aunthentic.

Sources in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) have verified the video of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri's threat to India and announcement of the formation of an India branch of the al Qaeda as authentic, said TV reports.

Moreover, IB has issued an alert to police stations across the nation. TV reports said that Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were under the Al Qaeda threat. Gujarat and UP have been placed on high alert and IB members in Gujarat have been told to question members of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), according to Times Now.

Reacting to the Al Qaeda video, Congress leader Manish Tewari said, "It is extremely worrying if the Al Qaeda chief has put India in the crosshair." He added that the "government must put pressure on Pakistan to expedite the 26/11 trials to India."

Strategic affairs expert Maroof Raza Gilani said that one of the ways to deal with terrorists was to keep pressure on them and keep them moving. Gilani added that intelligence forces in India had always been vigilant but efforts for security needed to be stepped up now.

According to NDTV, IB sources said that it is clear that Al Qaeda does not have a cell in India at least till now.

These developments come after a 55-minute video was released last night showing Zawahri announcing the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group. He also said he would spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the subcontinent.

In the video, Zawahiri is heard describing the formation of "Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" as glad tidings for Muslims "in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir".

Counter-terrorism experts say al Qaeda's ageing leaders are struggling to compete for recruits with Islamic State, which has galvanised young followers around the world by carving out tracts of territory across the Iraq-Syria border.

As well being an indirect repudiation of Islamic State, the announcement could pose a challenge to India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi. He has already faced criticism for remaining silent about several incidents deemed anti-Muslim, underscoring fears that his Hindu nationalist followers will upset religious relations in the majority Hindi nation.