al-Qaeda planning to attack India this Oct 2014, say officials
The two groups - one a global militant organization founded by Osama bin Laden and the other a home grown Indian outfit - were found to have joined forces when investigators discovered their roles in the recent Burdwan and Bijnor bombings.
Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri announced Sep 4 the forming of its group's wing in the country, by promising in a video posted online the need to spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the "Indian subcontinent".
With the erstwhile IM now having no presence in India, Al Qaeda looked for a new partner and found it in the shape of SIMI, which has a pan-India network.
"The role of Al Qaeda and SIMI came to light during the Burdwan and Bijnor bomb blasts in the last one month," a top official of the special cell, which deals with all terror-related activities in the national capital and keeps a watch on terrorists outfits, told IANS.
Another official, on condition of anonymity, told IANS: "To impart a big blow in India, Al Qaeda and SIMI had chosen the month of October and their motive was to conduct a series of bombings on Dussehra and Eid-ul-Adha."
However, the accidental blast in Burdwan in West Bengal put paid to the terrorists' bombings plan and they could not carry out any bombings on these occasions, the official added.
"But Diwali (Oct 23) might be on their radar and any Indian city could be targeted by these outfits on this festival," the official said.
Two suspected militants - Shakil Ahmed and Sovan Mandal - were killed and another person Hasan Saheb was injured in the Oct 2 explosion in a house in Khagragarh in Burdwan town. Four people, including two women, have been arrested in the case till now.
The investigative agencies are already on high alert and are not going to take any chances by leaving any loopholes on Diwali, another source, who is privy to intelligence-related information, told IANS.
The official said the Burdwan blast has confirmed Al Qaeda's role and its motive, while the Sep 12 Bijnor blast in Uttar Pradesh has also affirmed SIMI's role.
The recovery of two cartons full of bundles containing 20 match boxes each, a small liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder fitted with wires, two electronic chips and a metal pipe recovered from a house in Bijnor, where the blast took place on Sep 12 morning, is "indicative of the possibility that sleeper cells of the banned SIMI are on revival path", said the official.
SIMI has a modus operandi in which the use of matchstick sulphur is their signature in terror attacks.
"In at least a dozen incidents of terror attacks in southern states, the SIMI signature helped investigators zero in on the accused," the official said.
"The suspects now on the run from Bijnor include Ejazuddin, Mohd Aslam, Zakir Hussain, Mehboob alias Guddu and Amjad, all of whom escaped from the Madhya Pradesh jail a year ago. Their sixth aide is suspected to be Saliq alias Salim, a SIMI operative from Khandwa," he added.
Elaborating
on
the
terror
groups,
another
official
told
IANS,
"If
we
talk
about
SIMI's
supporting
groups,
Al
Qaeda
and
IM's
names
come
in
the
forefront."
"As
IM's
members
appear
to
have
been
erased
from
India,
Al
Qaeda
is
the
only
group
which
can
support
SIMI,"
he
said.
"There is no active role of the Indian Mujahideen in India after the arrest of their big Indian operatives in the last few months. Now the only terror group which can unleash mayhem in India is SIMI, which is trying to revive. Al Qaeda is also at the same stage and for this purpose it is backing SIMI, whose members are more acquainted with the topography of Indian states," another official told IANS.
The
IM,
believed
to
be
a
byproduct
of
SIMI,
is
banned
by
the
Indian
government.
SIMI
was
formed
in
Aligarh
in
1977
and
had
thousands
of
members
and
offices
in
almost
every
district
of
Madhya
Pradesh
before
it
was
banned
in
2002.
The
group
is
said
to
believe
in
fundamentalist
Islam
and
to
spread
its
values.
In
2007,
the
Supreme
Court
of
India
described
SIMI
as
a
"secessionist
movement".
Union
Home
Minister
Rajnath
Singh
announced
the
renewal
of
a
five-year
ban
on
SIMI
recently
as
sleeper
cells
of
the
outfit
revealed
their
presence
in
Uttar
Pradesh
during
investigations
in
the
Bijnor
bomb
blast.
IANS