Warning Delivered Two Months Before Mumbai Attacks Terror Expert Worries about Similar Scenario in Britain
By Jeremy Reynalds (12/01/08)
An Islamic terror group known as the Indian Mujahideen, which took responsibility for bombings in Delhi in September, warned two months ago that its next target would be Mumbai.
The almost 60-hour siege in Mumbai left nearly 200 people dead.
The Delhi bombings were a series of five synchronized bomb blasts that killed at least 30 and injured over 100.
A terrifying e-mail now posted on a password protected al-Qaeda related web site and sent to Indian media two months ago read in part, “Let the Indian Mujahideen warn all the people of Mumbai that whatever deadly attacks Mumbaikars will face in future, their responsibility would lie with the Mumbai ATS (the Anti-Terrorist Squad) and their guardians.”
The diatribe continued, “The entire Mumbai ... ATS has failed to take heed from our previous warnings, and is deliberately committed to mess with us. You should know that your acts are not at all left unnoticed; rather we are closely keeping an eye on you and just waiting for the proper time to execute your bloodshed.”
Predicting even more violence ahead, the writer of the e-mail said, “Remember it is not at all difficult for us to attack you in states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala etc. And by the Grace of Allah there is no shortage of explosives or lack of manpower, and we are extremely capable to shed your blood anywhere anytime.”
Fundamentalist Islamics who logged in to the secret al-Qaeda web site were thrilled about the Mumbai chaos and bloodshed.
Postings of delight quickly appeared on the site.
One radical wrote, “They turned the city into a big trap ... (Allah willing) we will see the same in western cities; it was only a training.”
Someone else wrote how happy he was to finally find people who are really Indian fighters. “It’‘s a big development,” he said.
Another writer commented, “I’m happy to see emerging new Jihadi groups, and especially in India.”
Possibly the most troubling comment read, “No matter who did it, I praise and welcome these events. I hope the attackers will not limit themselves to US and UK citizens and filthy Hindus, but kill as (many) non-Muslims as possible.”
As a result of the attacks, India's highest-ranking security official Home Minister Shivraj Patil, responsible for public safety and internal security, resigned on Sunday. He took responsibility for the failure of the country’s intelligence services and military to prevent the devastation in Mumbai.
Terrorism researcher Glen Jenvey, who is regularly called on by Britain’s national media for information regarding terrorism attacks, wondered whether the problem with intelligence in India is similar to what he has encountered in England.
He said that while there is an obvious need for good intelligence services, there is a problem. In an e-mail interview, Jenvey said, “Many ... intelligence services ... have a culture of ‘Not Invented Here Syndrome’ (NIH), where intelligence gathered outside their own ranks is either ignored or dismissed.”
Jenvey said that vital information is often discounted by low level officers working in police stations across the country.
He said, “This vital intelligence is not passed up the ranks to senior police officers and then to the security services, because it came from the public. The more eyes and ears the intelligence services have, the better informed they are.”
Jenvey said he has had disturbing dealings with the British anti-terrorism squad over the years, and after last week’s terror attacks is worried about what is next.
He said that a number of factors as well as “slack intelligence gathering, leaves London open for a Mumbai style attack with headlines in the papers weeks later disclosing the police were warned but never acted.”
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