Airports in south India on alert after al-Qaeda terror threat

New Delhi, Nov 9 (UNI) The civil aviation ministry today asked intelligence and other agencies to beef up security measures after a letter found at Trichy airport said al-Qaeda terrorists plan to bomb airports in south India by using sophisticated explosives.

The letter handwritten in Tamil was left yesterday in a sealed envelope airport for airport manager, said civil aviation secretary Ajay Prasad.

''It said al-Qaeda elements have infiltrated the Chennai airport and plan to target other airports in south India as well,'' he said.

''We've alerted authorities in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. We're also working closely with intelligence agencies.'' Mr Prasad said secondary checks of passengers and their handbags are being introduced to avert any untoward incident. At the same time, he said all car parkings are being combed.

Reports said security in Madurai, Trichy, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Calicut and Kochy airports have been tightened following the alert. The alert was called after a cleaner at Trichy airport found the anonymous note.

One report quoted an Intelligence Bureau's assessment that it is not a real threat.

Still, the civil aviation ministry has held meetings with officials of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the home ministry and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to review the situation.

According to BCAS sources, the airports will be on high alert for the next one week. All necessary security measures have been put in place at the airports to thwart any attack.

The measures include secondary ladder point check and thorough baggage check besides increased security at peripheral areas. It also means security checks will take more time and passengers have been advised to report a little early.

UNI SU RP RAI1835