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| India-Pakistan |
| Indian agencies get info of 'militant attack' on summit |
| 2007-04-02 |
| Indian intelligence agencies have received information that four Sikh and Islamist militant organisations are planning to attack New Delhi targeting the 14th Saarc summit to be held on April 3 and 4 in the Indian capital, according to an Indian news report. With the Saarc preparatory meetings already underway, the intelligence interception of a conversation between four militant organisations, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has set off alarm bells among the summit organisers as it is being seen as a serious threat. Security is expected to be beefed up in the adjoining areas to pre-empt any possible threat to the summit that will be attended by the eight leaders of Saarc countries and also by the foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea, reports the Times of India. The news report states that according to the intercepted message, a meeting was held at the house of a senior leader of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a Sikh militant group that was responsible for two simultaneous attacks in Delhi in 2005. Representatives from the UK-based Muslim-Sikh Council, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) attended the meeting. The newspaper quotes a senior security officer as saying that in the intercepted message, the four militant groups discussed possible infiltration into India via the sea-route. It is being seen as a serious threat in the wake of a recent seizure of arms and explosives in the Indian southern coast in February, the officer said, adding that LeT sought assistance from BKI to carry out the attacks, which involved two LeT men to target the summit in New Delhi. The newspaper also quotes other intelligence agencies as saying that the militants have been trained to act like human bombs and would flee to Kashmir after the attacks. The 13th Saarc Summit in Dhaka was cancelled in February 2005 due to security concerns. Until now eight Saarc summits have been cancelled. |
| Posted by:Fred |