Al Qaeda, LeT terrorists can strike in India during WC matches

New Delhi (PTI) Terror groups Al-Qaeda and
Lashkar-e-Taiba are looking for opportunities to target the
ongoing World Cup cricket matches in India and vital oil
installations along the coastline, prompting the Indian Home
Ministry to sound a nation-wide alert.
A foreign intelligence agency has conveyed to India that
some members of an operational cell of the terrorists could
already be in the country, possibly entered via Nepal, and
some more may arrive soon.
"A collateral input reveals that Al-Qaeda operatives
involved in the attacks could travle to India via boat,
possibly in the next few months and that these operatives
could be well acquainted with maritime travel to reach their
targets in quick time and could be Urdu-speaking from the
Punjab province of Pakistan," the advisory sent by the Home
Ministry to states said.
The Home Ministry said that as per the input, the
terrorists also have plans to carry out attacks in India
during the ongoing World Cup cricket competition.
The Centre has asked the states to beef up security along
the coastline, oil installations and all world cup venues.
Indian Navy, Coast Guard, coastal police of the states and
coastal villages have also been alerted.
The recent inputs indicated that LeT group affiliated to
Pakistan-based Zabiuddin Ansari has been looking for
information on chemical compounds and the venues of the World
Cup cricket matches in India where these chemicals can be used
for fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices.
"Keeping in view the threat from Al-Qaeda, LeT and other
groups which have plans to carry out attacks in India in the
near future, you are advised to track the whereabouts and
monitor the activities of Indian Mujahideen (IM) absconders as
well their associates hailing from your states," the MHA
advisory said.
Interestingly, the foreign intelligence agency also
shared the information with Pakistani authorities and asked
them to take necessary action if they found anyone suspicious.
The Indian Home Ministry asked the states to take note of
the inputs and accordingly plan the security arrangements
being made for the world cup matches, oil installations and
the forthcoming Assembly elections in five states to avoid any
untoward incident.
The Al-Qaeda, which has close ties with a number of
terrorist groups that had earlier carried out attacks in
India, has extended support for terror attacks in India in the
next few months.
Intelligence agencies also suggested that Zabiuddin
Ansari and his terrorist associates had in October 2010 done
research in explosive chemicals and the processe used in the
manufacture of detonators, explosives and household items that
can be used to trigger blasts.
The terrorists also studied all the eight world cup
venues in India.
According to the inputs, the terrorist group which has
already entered the country could have a strength of 6 to 15
members.
Indian Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai has already spoken
to the DGPs of a few states, including Maharashtra and
Gujarat, and asked them to tighten security in all vital
installations.
Security in refineries in Jamnagar, Mumbai, Mangalore and
Kochi, sea ports of western coasts, particularly Mundra and
Mumbai, have been intensified.
Indian Navy and Coast Guard have intensified vigil in the
sea and are providing additional security to offshore oil
installations and vessels containing oil.
All coastal villages have been alerted and asked to
inform the authorities if any of their fishing boats finds any
suspicious activities in the sea.
The Indian government is also in the process of puttting
up transponders in small fishing boats for verification of
vessels and fishermen. Some transponders have already been
installed in some bigger vessels.