CONFUSION: Al-Qaida endures even as U.S. focuses on IS ISIS ISIL…

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announces the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group. He was silent on the Syrian cell of al-Qaeda that U.S. forces attacked this week. (Reuters Tv/Reuters)

As the United States mobilized against new Islamist enemies this month, the voice of an aging adversary echoed in the distance.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of al-Qaeda’s founders and its leader for the past three years, released a video announcing the formation of a new affiliate in India and lamenting the turmoil being caused by the rival Islamic State in Syria.

“Oh mujahideen, unite and reject differences and discord,” he said in a pleading tone that seemed to underscore the declining relevance of al-Qaeda’s core, the
Pakistan-based group that orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Written by Greg Miller and Kevin Sieff 
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