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US officials fear that should the firm evidence emerge that the Mumbai terror attacks were planned and directed from within Pakistan, it would certainly escalate tension between the neighbouring countries and could also provoke an Indian military response, even strikes against terrorists, a media report said on Saturday. Quoting the officials in Washington, The New York Times said there was no evidence that Pakistani government had any role in the attacks. But American intelligence and counter-terrorism officials told the paper that there is mounting evidence that a Pakistani militant group, most likely Lashkar-e-Tayiba, was responsible for deadly attacks in Mumbai....

The Indian navy has defended its action in sinking a ship near Somalia that maritime officials have confirmed was a hijacked Thai fishing boat. The International Maritime Bureau said the Ekawat Nava 5 had been captured by pirates earlier in the day on 18 November and the crew was tied up. One crewman was found alive after six days adrift but 14 are still missing. The Indian navy said the ship was a pirate vessel in "description and intent" and had opened fire first. India is one of several countries currently patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's...

(CNN) -- Five Indian sailors who were among the crew of a Japanese-owned cargo ship hijacked by pirates and held for two months before a ransom was paid said Monday their captivity was "total desperation." "I wish that no one else ever has to go through this -- (hijackers) are not human but rather animals," said Alister Fernandes, one of the sailors, at a news conference in Mumbai, India. They arrived in Mumbai on Monday after several days of rest and medical and psychological treatment following the release of their ship on November 16. The Stolt Valor, a chemical tanker,...

    When the Sirius Star and its US$100 million crude oil cargo and 25 crew were hijacked by Somali pirates nine days ago, one country was ready to respond immediately. After Indian shipowners and seafarers’ unions outlined the pirate threat, New Delhi moved with laserlike focus. The navy dispatched a warship to the region in mid-October, and its personnel have in recent weeks foiled three attempted hijackings and sunk a pirate mother ship – the only country to do so.The Somali pirates have wreaked havoc – increasingly so – in the Gulf of Aden and along the coast of...

NEW DELHI: The repeated Predator air strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas are beginning to show results, say Indian security officials closely following the operations. The US strikes "have succeeded in cracking the networking capabilities of al-Qaida", said sources here. But since Pakistan's ISI is the primary sponsor of both al-Qaida and Taliban, India's concerns are that the ISI could "re-deploy" these jihadi fighters from the FATA areas into the Kashmir zone or in other parts of India for surgical suicide strikes. In Washington last week, CIA director Michael Hayden detailed the US strategy against al-Qaida in Pakistan. "It is no...

Larger Indian warship to fight pirates off Aden New Delhi (IANS): The Indian Navy will be sending guided-missile destroyer INS Mysore to the Gulf of Aden for patrolling the waterways hit by a spate of ship hijackings by Somali pirates, defence sources said Thursday. The move comes after a successful hostile action against Somali pirates in the area by the Indian Navy. A Delhi class destroyer, INS Mysore will replace INS Tabar in the Gulf of Aden, a Navy official told IANS on condition of anonymity. He said the destroyer will set sail from Mumbai soon. The official said a...

WASHINGTON: Citing the Indian Navy's sinking of a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden, the US said action is taking place to deal with the problem of piracy in the international system. "The issue of piracy is a concern to us as well as others in the international system," state department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Wednesday, noting: "The issue of piracy has been with us, as an international system, unfortunately, for quite some time." Asked about reports that the owners of a hijacked Saudi supertanker were in talks over a possible ransom, he said: "I'm going to decline...

NEW DELHI: India, which is planning to send four more warships to the Gulf of Aden, has already conveyed to Somalia that it will use all necessary means to fight pirates who have targeted merchant ships passing through one of the world’s strategic shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia. ``We have conveyed through the Permanent Representative of Somalia (in the UN) of our desire to use all necessary mean to repress acts of piracy,’’ secretary (east) in the ministry of external affairs N Ravi said. The Indian Navy had sunk a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden in...

NEW DELHI: Even as the world's largest supertanker the Saudi Sirius Star continues to be in the grip of pirates of the coast of Somalia, the Indian navy appears to have taken the lead in the fight against pirates. After a successful operation against pirates last week when the Indian navy warship INS Tabar sank a Somalian pirate ship of the Gulf of Aden, at about 10 pm last night the navy spotted another pirate ship; it challenged the pirate ship which had several speed boats accompanying it, according to TV channel Times Now. The pirate’s ship tried to ram...

Even as the world's largest supertanker the Sirius Star continues to be in the grip of Pirates of the coast of Somalia. The Indian Navy appears to have taken the lead in the fight aagainst pirates, shortly after a successful operation against Pirates last week -- the Indian Navy warship INS Tabar sank a Somalian Pirate ship of the Gulf of Aden. At about 10 PM last night the Indian Navy spotted a pirate ship, The Navy challenged the pirate ship which had several speed boats accompanying it. The Pirate ship tried to ram the Tabar at which point the...

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, as separate bands of brigands seized Thai and Iranian ships in the lawless seas.