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| Tuesday, 2 September 2003 |
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Indian police warn of more deadly attacks BOMBAY, Monday (AFP) Indian police warned of the possibility of more deadly attacks in the wake of the Bombay bombings after killing two militants who were allegedly plotting to strike a "spectacular target" in the capital. "There is a need for the people to be alert particularly in light of the forthcoming festival season which will be a lucrative target for the militants," New Delhi deputy police chief Neeraj Kumar told a news conference. A string of Hindu festivals are celebrated in September and October. The warning came as more than 40,000 police were deployed in Bombay and thousands of others formed self-protection militias as the city began a Hindu festival devoted to the elephant-headed god Ganesha, six days after two deadly car bombings that left 52 dead. New Delhi police Saturday gunned down two alleged Islamic militants after an action-packed day in which authorities said they found a sack full of explosives at the railway station and a truck loaded with arms and bombs. "They (the militants) were definitely trying to strike a spectacular target," Kumar said. He said the possible targets included senior officials or India Gate, a monument packed with strollers day and night, or "other crowded places". One of the two men, Zahoor Ahmed, had been identified as a Pakistani, Kumar said. Two Chinese-made pistols, an AK-56 assault rifle with ammunition and 200,000 rupees (4,255 dollars) were recovered from the slain militants' car, Kumar said. He said police were tipped off about the two militants after three accomplices were arrested while they sorted through weapons in their truck. Hidden under fruit in a crate inside the truck lay 10 hand grenades, 10 grenade shells and a grenade launcher, Kumar said. "These men revealed that the consignment of weapons was to be handed over to the two militants at the Millennium Park. A trap was laid and the two were killed after a brief gunbattle," he said. The officer said those killed and the three arrested belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad, a movement founded in Pakistan that is among the most extreme groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Police said they later arrested two more alleged Jaish-e-Mohammad militants, who had 23 electronic detonators and three remote control devices with them, in the town of Bulandhsahr on the capital's outskirts. Kumar said more "terrorists" could be in the capital planning "something bigger than the Bombay blasts," but added: "If there are any more, we will be able to tackle them." Saturday's gunbattle in the heart of New Delhi, a city of 14 million people, came hours after Indian troops said they had likely killed senior Jaish commander Gazi Baba in a 10-hour raid on a house in Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar. Meanwhile one week after twin car bombs killed 52 people in the heart of Bombay, Indian investigators have narrowed the hunt for perpetrators to Islamic extremists but are struggling to pinpoint which militants did it and why.. Dozens have been detained for questioning and five suspects have even been arrested, but clues leading to the actual mastermind of the atrocity continue to elude the police.. Police have been forced to consider an international connection to the bombing after confirming the deadly explosive was RDX, the ingredient in numerous terrorist attacks around the world including the October 2002 blast at a Bali nightclub that killed 202 people. |
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