INDIA ON RED ALERT over NEW YEAR 28-12-2010

India has issued a nationwide terror alert after receiving word that Pakistan-based militants are planning an attack over New Year's weekend. Officials have increased security in Mumbai, Goa, and Bangalore—specifically, at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Taj hotels in Mumbai, and software companies in Bangalore—and say that possible targets may include locations scouted out by American David Coleman Headley before the Mumbai attacks. Since Friday, Mumbai and Ahmedabad authorities have been hunting for four members of terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba believed to be in Mumbai and planning the attacks. Sketches have been released of the men, and police have stepped up security in public areas, and conducted house-to-house searches. Mumbai officials have not hesitated to issue terror alerts since the 2008 attacks left 166 people dead, and this is the third time this year that officials have issued a major warning.
New Delhi: The ministry of Home Affairs sounded a security alert across the country four days before the New Year festivities begin. The alert is specific for all locations that Lashkar agent David Coleman Headley recced. Information Bureau has picked up human intelligence which suggests that Taj Hotel could be attacked, following which security at all Taj Hotels, specially Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel has been tightened.
The Home Ministry advisory came after a specific alert issued for Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Intelligence reports had suggested that terrorists from across the border have entered India with plans to attack Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Both Mumbai n Gujarat police have been asked to be vigilant. In Karnataka also, the threat of terror is raising concern.
Para military forces have been stationed in coastal Karnataka as inputs suggest terrorist could enter the state taking the sea route. Security forces in Goa too have been asked to be vigilant in the wake of the film festival and the rush of foreign tourists coming in for the New Year. People are advised to be vigilant and stay away from crowded places like markets and tourist places.

MUMBAI POLICE has released the sketches of four Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) suspects, who have reportedly sneaked into the city to carry out "violent" attacks with the aim of causing "destruction".

Issuing an advisory to citizens to remain alert, Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) Himanshu Roy told a news conference late on Thursday night that: "The four were identified as Abdul Kareem Moosa, Noor Abu Ilahi, Walid Jinnah and Mahfooz Alam. The four recently sneaked into the city to carry out extremely dangerous activity."

The police have set up dedicated phone number 02222633333 to enable the people pass on information about the militants and in the event of an emergency

JAI HIND
Rahul Vallamber

Red Alert in MUMBAI-AHMEDABAD- sketch of LeT terrorist in Mumbai - 27-12-2010

The Mumbai police issued a terror advisory on Thursday night, after receiving intelligence inputs about four terrorists sneaking into the city ahead of the festive season.

Four members of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashker-e-Tayiba sneaked into Mumbai, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy said on Thursday. The city police also released the sketch of one of the four suspected terrorists.

The four have been identified as Abdul Karim Musa, Noor Abu Ilahi, Walid Jinnah and Mahfooz Alam. The police have released the sketch of Walid Jinnah.

"We have information that they have arrived in Mumbai to carry out violent attacks intended to cause destruction," said Roy. He refused to divulge the nationality of the suspected terrorists.

Incidentally, the Centre had issued a terror advisory for Mumbai and Ahmedabad two days ago.

"The last time we had released sketches of terrorists was before Ganesh Chaturthi. Wide- publicity was given to the sketches due to which the festival passed off quite peacefully. This time too we want wide publicity so that people remain alert," said Roy.

He added that special teams of police officers would be keeping an eye on crowded places like railway stations and religious sites.

In case anyone has information on the four LeT terrorists, he/she can call up the Mumbai police's hotline at 22633333

Jai HInd
Rahul Vallamber

Indian Mujahideen claims responsibility for Varanasi blast (07/12/2010)

Terror group Indian Mujahideen Tuesday owned responsibility for a bomb explosion in Varanasi that killed a small girl and left 37 injured, saying it was to avenge the 1992 demolition of Ayodhya's Babri Masjid.
In an e-mail to media houses soon after the blast, the terror group said: "Indian Mujahideen attribute(s) this attack to the 6th of December that will haunt your nation of world's ‘greatest demoNcracy' until Muslims are paid back justly and fairly for the loss of their beloved Babri Masjid, the precious lives of their near and dear ones, their pride, dignity and self-respect."

The mail was sent from an e-mail ID alfateh00005@gmail.com.

The Indian Mujahideen, blamed for series of terror attacks in India, has been using unsecured WiFi connections for sending mails to media houses within minutes of the blasts in the last few years.

The home ministry said it was verifying the authenticity of the e-mail.

An official said investigative agencies were looking into and tracking the internet protocol (IP) address used to send the e-mail.

The security agencies say the Indian Mujahideen is supported by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group.

The security agencies also believe that the Indian Mujahideen is one of many groups that has members from the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

The group claimed responsibility for the 2008 Jaipur bombings, Ahmedabad serial blasts and Delhi blasts.

Jai Hind
Rahul Vallamber

Blast at Varanasi's Dashashwamedh Ghat,1 killed and 37 injured on 07/12/2010

VARANASI: A two-year-old girl was killed and At least 37 people including four foreigners were injured in a blast at the Dashashwamedh Ghat here during the Ganga arati around 6.30pm on Tuesday. Many others were injured in the ensuing stampede. According to official sources, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) has been recovered from a dustbin at the Varanasi blast site.

The girl identified as Sarita Sharma, who was with her mother for the prayers, died at Marwari hospital after the blast, according to IG(Varanasi) R P Singh. She was around two years, he said. It was not immediately known whether she suffered injuries in the explosion or in the stampede

The Ganga arati, which stretches across the Shitala, Dashashwamedh and Prayag ghats, is a daily ritual attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people, many of whom are foreigners. The ghats are near the famous Vishwanath temple.

A statewide alert has been sounded, ADG Brij Lal said.

The blast on Tuesday occurred on the stairs of Dashashwamedh ghat and was so powerful that big boulders on the stairs were thrown many metres away, eyewitnesses said.

The DIG of Varanasi range, Prem Prakash, said that the crowd was targeted. The injured have been taken to various hospitals in the city, including the district hospital.

The home ministry has sounded a nationwide alert with special stress on four major cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad - in wake of the blast in Varanasi. "A general alert has been sent to all state governments and they have been asked to stay on high alert," Union Home Secretary G K .Pillai said in New Delhi.
"It was low intensity blast which occurred at about 6.20 pm in which three-four people were injured. Subsequently we understand there could have been a stampede...as a result 15-20 people were injured. So roughly 20-30 people injured," he said.
According to home ministry sources, alerts have been issued to the four metropolis in particular.
They said a high-level team of the National Investigation Agency is also likely to visit the holy town.
Secretary for Internal Security at MHA, U K Bansal said, "We had alerted Uttar Pradesh Police sometime back. I am sure the UP police will take it as a challenge. There is no reason for panic."


Jai Hind

Rahul vallamber

Karachi blast,13/11/2010

No CCTV evidence in Karachi blast, says official

Islamabad, Nov 13 (IANS) It would be difficult to track down the suspects in the Karachi port city blast Thursday that killed 19 people because electricity supply to the bombed police station was disconnected and there was no CCTV footage, an official said Saturday

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Authorities Saturday, however, issued sketches of two suspects piecing together the information from eye-witnesses. They include a youngster of around 22 years of age and another man in his mid-30s, who were amongst the 10 terrorists who attacked the Karachi police station that housed the targeted criminal investigation department (CID) office.

Inspector General Sindh Police Salahuddin Babar Khattak said 'the attackers came on two motorbikes and one SUV jeep. They fired from two sides before carrying out the blast'.
Ahmad Chinoy, chief of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC)of Karachi, said: 'The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) had disconnected the electricity of the CID police station a day before the blast, which meant that the CCTV cameras were not working when the explosion took place.'

'The lack of evidence in the form of CCTV footage has made it difficult for police authorities to find any clue about the suspected terrorists,' he said.
KESC spokesperson Ayesha Arabi, however, denied the claim and said the power supply was restored shortly afterwards.

Banned militant outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban claimed responsibility for the high-intensity attack, which also left over 140 people injured.

As many as 170 nearby houses were damaged in the attack while some offices situated on the same road have developed cracks.

The residents and the families of police officials killed in the blast are sitting at the debris and no alternative shelter has been provided to them as yet.

At least eight police officials patrolling the area were killed in the blast and the Sindh government has announced Rs.two million each and a plot in recognition of their sacrifice.
There have been reports in the media that six suspects arrested a couple of days before the blast for having links with Lashkar-i-Jhangvi were missing since the deadly suicide attack.
'The arms and ammunition of the police officials on duty as well as the suicide jackets recovered from the terrorists are also not being found,' a media report said.

'The exact situation will only be known after the removal of rubble,' said Javed Akram, superintendent of Sadar police.

Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza said: 'We are in a state of war and such attacks should not deter us from our resolve to fight extremism.'

Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah visited the blast site Saturday and said the terrorists could not entirely succeed in their designs after being stopped at the check-post. He said the new CID office will be built somewhere else instead of the busy downtown location.

An FIR has been registered against unknown attackers while the evidence collected initially has been sent to forensic lab.

Rahul vallamber

Terror mail sent by INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN to BBC (19/09/2010)

NEW DELHI: Investigations into the terror email sent by Indian Mujahideen (IM) hours after the Jama Masjid firing incident have revealed that a second-hand Nokia mobile handset purchased from a shop in Dongri in south Mumbai was used to send the threat mail.

However, the shopkeeper has no records of the person who bought the handset. Investigators believe that the terrorist bought a second-hand mobile to reduce the chances of getting traced.

A Tata Docomo prepaid mobile number — 897XXXX165 — registered at a fake Borivili address in the name of a woman was used to send the email on Sunday. "Analysis of the SIM card has further revealed that it was activated on September 14-15 and was not used for sending any message or email. It only contains welcome message from Tata Indicom. The GPRS which was used to send the email was activated on September 15. From the usage, it appears that it was a high-end handset," said a Mumbai ATS official.

A Delhi Police team, which is seeking help of Mumbai police has not made any headway from the email though it questioned the two men who sold the mobile and SIM card. Cops said that they are still awaiting the forensic report on the e-mail contents.

"It appears that the e-mail id — al.arbi999123@gmail.com — was created and then the IM mail was saved in the drafts. The email was created using a laptop or a desktop. The gmail ID was opened on the mobile at in Dongri and then the mail sent to media houses," said an officer.

Jai Hind

Rahul Vallamber

'Delhi attack on 19/09/2010'

The September 19 attack on foreigners near the Jama Masjid in New Delhi, days before the Commonwealth Games open in the capital, has created a scare in India and abroad.
Australia has issued a travel advisory to its citizens not to travel to India.
Justine Bowden, whose company Beltin Group will provide advisory and security to the Australian media during the CWG, says the delay in infrastructure development has affected the ability of counter-terrorism teams to train and plan contingencies for the sites.
In this interview Dr Bowden speaks about Sunday's attack at Delhi and what the thinking is in the Australian team, which is on its way to attend the Commonwealth Games.

Investigation into the Jama Masjid attack on Sunday have found that the email ID, al.arbi999123@gmail.com, which was used to send the mail to BBC after the incident was created using a California IP address. The Delhi Police have also tracked down another IP address in Mumbai.
Sources said the email ID was created using the United States IP address a few minutes before the blast. “The person then conveyed the ID and password to the email sender in Mumbai. The person in Mumbai then sent the mail using a Tata Photon Internet card that was procured on a fake identity,” said sources.
The Delhi Police are in the process of sending a letter rogatory (LR) to the US to seek information from Google on the person who created the email ID. Officials said they would ask the ministry of external affairs to expedite the request.
Sources said the Tata Photon card used to send the mail has not been traced yet. The dealer from whom the card has been procured has been traced to Dadar area in Mumbai. The Mumbai Police, with the help of the internet card dealer, have prepared a sketch of the person who purchased the card.
Meanwhile, a forensic team of the Delhi Police today visited the Jama Masjid spot where the incident occurred. Officials said four empty cartridges are yet to be recovered.

Jai Hind
Rahul Vallamber