High alert in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Gujarat

A top Union Home Ministry official on Monday said that Taliban-trained ‘fidayeen’ (suicide squad) have entered the country to carry out attacks at "specific" installations, including Bhaba Atomic Research Centre

Kolkata, Mumbai and the national capital, besides Gujarat, have been put on high alert following intelligence inputs that Taliban-trained terrorists have sneaked into these cities to target vital installations.

A top Union Home Ministry official on Monday said that Taliban-trained ‘fidayeen’ (suicide squad) have entered the country to carry out attacks at “specific” installations, including Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, defence establishments among others.

Bombay Stock Exchange, RSS headquarters are also among the likely targets of the “Pashtoon-looking” terrorists, the official said adding that instructions have been issued to lay a tighten security net around these installations.

He said the police forces have been put on high alert following the inputs and efforts are on to nab the terrorists at the earliest.

More here:

Suicide attackers have sneaked into India: Sources NDTV Correspondent, Monday December 14, 2009, New Delhi

Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are on high-alert after reports that Taliban-trained suicide attackers have managed to sneak into India. Sources tell NDTV the police is looking for Pashtoons and Afghans.

Intelligence inputs suggest that the World Hockey Championships in Delhi next month are a terror target. The Mumbai Stock Exchange and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre are being closely monitored. The American Consulate in Kolkata is also considered a potential target for these attackers.

The offices of the Rashtriya Swayamswak Sangh (RSS) in different cities have also been alerted.

More details are awaited.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/sources_suicide_attackers_have_sneaked_into_india.php

____________________ RSS is a right wing Hindu organization:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh

...no surprise the Taliban/Islamic terrorists have it as a target.

@AmericanInTokyo

Welcome to Free Republic.

Thank you! __________________________________________________________ @silverleaf #2

the world came close after 911 and the skills of the Bush administration headed it off - no thanks or credit given from the media or euroweenie chattering classes...

George Bush has a very good image in India. His Iraq War had popular support among the public. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a huge supporter of the current Afghan war as well. __________________________________________________________ @taildragger #6

How much of this is an India-Pakistan issue and how much is this a preemptive strike against India as a potential ally to Israel since they may go “wheels up” in the coming year against Iran?

I think this is largely Ind-Pak-Afghan issue... Here's a good article on the complex geo-political mess: TIMEmag: India, Pakistan and the Battle for Afghanistan Dec. 05, 2009 http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1945666,00.html

The road to success for President Obama's Afghanistan strategy runs through India, goes an increasingly familiar refrain. That's because reversing the Taliban's momentum requires getting rid of the movement's sanctuary in Pakistan, where the insurgent leadership is known to be based in and around the city of Quetta. But while Pakistan is aggressively tackling its domestic Taliban, it has consistently declined to act against Afghan Taliban groups based on its soil — because it sees the Afghan Taliban as a useful counterweight to what it believes is the dominant influence in today's Afghanistan of Pakistan's arch-enemy, India. Unless India can be persuaded to take steps to ease tensions with Pakistan, some suggest, Pakistan will not be willing to shut down the Afghan Taliban. (Read Joe Klein's take on Obama's speech on Afghanistan.) Needless to say, that argument is not exactly conventional wisdom in New Delhi. [...] Indian analysts fear tensions could be exacerbated by President Obama's declaration that the U.S. will begin to draw down 18 months after surging some 30,000 more American troops into Afghanistan. "It makes political sense for Obama, but the decision has really set the cat amongst the pigeons in the region," says Bhaskar. "Everyone is rattled." The prospect that the U.S. will soon depart Afghanistan makes it even less likely that Pakistan will want to crack down on a group that could still be a strategic asset in an uncertain situation. [...] Neither Moscow nor Tehran want to see the Taliban return to power, and a growing consensus between Russia, Iran and India — all traditional backers of the Northern Alliance — could work to prevent that in the months and years to come. "India may have to hedge its bets with these regional partners," says Harsh Pant. "When America leaves Afghanistan, they may be the ones left to deal with the mess.

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