NEW DELHI, Nov 2: Days before the first anniversary of the Nov 26 terror attack on Mumbai, Indian intelligence officials warned the government on Monday that another assault could not be ruled out. The attack could come from either land or sea, they said.

The media quoted the home ministry as saying there were fresh inputs warning of a Mumbai-like attack and this time the targets could be Kolkata, Mumbai or Bangalore.

According to several reports, the Indian government has issued a nationwide alert against such an attack in the coming weeks. The basis for the alert is a wide variety of inputs, from a spurt in infiltration in Kashmir to the arrest of an American, David Headley, in Chicago.

The FBI says he was plotting to attack India and Denmark. Headley’s communication with the Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT) has sent alarm bells ringing in India and the US. Home Ministry sources, however, say that Indian agencies are ready with counter measures, even retaliation, to tackle any attack.

The latest reported alert follows rare public warnings by key Indian ministers over the past couple of days.

“I’ve been warning Pakistan every time to not play with us again and to stop with the Mumbai game. I’m warning Pakistan for the last time.

If Pakistan attempts to send terrorists into India again, India will not only foil those attempts but also give them a crushing response,” Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram had said at a public meeting on Sunday.

On Monday, Defence Minister A. K. Antony alleged the presence of “terrorist camps” across the border.

“Large number of terrorists camps are operating across the border. Unless serious and sincere efforts are made to control the terrorists, it is very difficult to improve relations. Even now there is continuous effort to push trained terrorists to Jammu and Kashmir and India. It is a serious matter of concern for us,” Mr Antony said. Meanwhile, in a startling revelation, Delhi police said live ammunition was recovered from Kotla, the venue for an India-Australia one-day cricket match, hours before the game on Saturday.

The recovery of seven live pistol cartridges from the Ferozeshah Kotla points to a major security breach, the reports said. The police have registered a case, but no arrest has been made so far.