New Delhi, Aug 11: The United States on Friday cautioned India over possible terror attacks in major cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai, ahead of the Independence Day on Aug 15. Last month’s attack in Mumbai had led to tensions with Pakistan.
The warning posted on the US Embassy’s website informed American visitors in India that foreign militants, possibly from al-Qaeda, may be planning the attacks. Indian analysts said the warning had raised fears that Osama bin Laden’s network may be targeting India for growing ties with the United States.
“Likely targets include major airports, key central Indian government offices, and major gathering places such as hotels and markets,” the US embassy said. It urged Americans to maintain a low profile and be alert until Wednesday.
Indian officials sought to play down the threat and Home Secretary V.K. Duggal described the warning as innocuous.
‘AL QAEDA COMPACT’: India’s National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan said on Friday that the Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT) is part of an ‘Al Qaeda compact’ and is ‘as big as and omnipotent’ as the international network.
“The Lashkar today has emerged as a very major force. It has connectivity with west Asia, Europe....Actually there was an LeT module broken in Virginia and some people were picked up. It is as big as and omnipotent as al Qaeda in every sense of the term,” he told a private news channel.
He was asked whether Lashkar is part of Al Qaeda and whether it has gone beyond Pakistan.
