Seraphim
08-31-2003, 08:43 AM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030831/ap_on_re_as/india_terror_arrests&cid=516&ncid=716
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030830/capt.1062245874.india_explosives_del101.jpg
Delhi policemen show gelatin explosives to the media at the New Delhi Railway Station police post in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2003. 21 kilograms (47 pounds) gelatin sticks were found unclaimed in a gunnysack, at a railway platform by police. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
By RAJESH MAHAPATRA, Associated Press Writer
NEW DELHI, India - Weekend actions by authorities against terrorists prevented a "spectacular" attack by a Pakistan-based militant group in India's capital, police said Sunday.
Police killed two suspected members of the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammed group in a park in New Delhi late Saturday, hours after explosives were seized in two separate raids and three people arrested.
"The exact target would have been disclosed to them by Jaish headquarters a short time before the actual strike," Joint Commissioner Niraj Kumar told reporters. "It would have been something spectacular like VIPs, symbols of national importance like the India Gate and Red Fort, something like that."
The raids in the capital came after security forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir (news - web sites) said they had killed Jaish-e-Mohammed's head of Indian operations, Ghazi Baba. He was suspected of carrying out an attack on India's Parliament in December 2001 that brought India and Pakistan close to war.
Jaish-e-Mohammed is one of the most feared militant groups in India's Jammu-Kashmir state. It is among about a dozen groups fighting security forces to separate Kashmir from Indian control or to merge with Pakistan, India's western neighbor and rival.
Security officials often identify Islamic militants from documents found on their bodies, such as hotel bills, letters, family photographs and identity cards.
However, there was no way to independently verify the identity of the men killed and arrested Saturday night. Kumar said the arrested men had confessed to their identities and told police the vehicle license plate number of their accomplices, who were later killed in an ambush.
Police arrested two more men Sunday morning in the town of Bulandshahar in the northern Uttar Pradesh state neighboring India's capital, Kumar said. This raid was made on the basis of information from the men arrested Saturday and documents found on the bodies of the dead men, Kumar said.
The police action came days after two car bombings in Bombay, India's financial capital, that killed 52 people and injured 150 at a tourist hub and a busy trading area.
Kumar urged residents of New Delhi to be alert to prevent terrorist attacks, "particularly in the light of the coming festival season, which will be a very lucrative target."
He asked people to be careful when renting apartments to strangers or selling cars. Several previous attacks have been carried out by attackers in used cars bought a few days before the attacks.
"The need for vigilance by the public in conjunction with the police will help make Delhi safer," Kumar said.
It was not immediately clear whether the developments would have an impact on shaky peace efforts between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since 1947. They came to the brink of a fourth war after the Parliament attack, when they massed nearly 1 million troops along their border. However, intense diplomatic efforts led by the United States helped avert war.
Saturday's gunfight in New Delhi occurred after police intercepted a car in which the two militants were traveling, Kumar said. The gunfight came hours after police seized a truck carrying grenades at Sadar Bazar, a trading hub in central New Delhi. The grenades and other weapons were hidden inside fruit boxes, Kumar said.
The three detained men said during interrogation that the weapons were to be handed over later Saturday to the slain militants.
"Accordingly, we laid a trap. When we intercepted them, they tried to flee and were killed," Kumar said.
Earlier Saturday, police on a routine patrol of the city's main train station found a bag that contained about 47 pounds of explosives on a railway platform. It was safely disposed of.
New Delhi has been on high alert since the Bombay terrorist attacks. Media reports have quoted police as saying that Islamic militants were plotting attacks in New Delhi, prompting tougher security checks on vehicles coming into the city.
Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since they received independence from Britain in 1947. The Indian portion is the only Muslim-majority state in Hindu-majority India, and the insurgency by Islamic militants since 1989 has resulted in the deaths of some 63,000 people.
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030830/capt.1062245874.india_explosives_del101.jpg
Delhi policemen show gelatin explosives to the media at the New Delhi Railway Station police post in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2003. 21 kilograms (47 pounds) gelatin sticks were found unclaimed in a gunnysack, at a railway platform by police. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
By RAJESH MAHAPATRA, Associated Press Writer
NEW DELHI, India - Weekend actions by authorities against terrorists prevented a "spectacular" attack by a Pakistan-based militant group in India's capital, police said Sunday.
Police killed two suspected members of the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammed group in a park in New Delhi late Saturday, hours after explosives were seized in two separate raids and three people arrested.
"The exact target would have been disclosed to them by Jaish headquarters a short time before the actual strike," Joint Commissioner Niraj Kumar told reporters. "It would have been something spectacular like VIPs, symbols of national importance like the India Gate and Red Fort, something like that."
The raids in the capital came after security forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir (news - web sites) said they had killed Jaish-e-Mohammed's head of Indian operations, Ghazi Baba. He was suspected of carrying out an attack on India's Parliament in December 2001 that brought India and Pakistan close to war.
Jaish-e-Mohammed is one of the most feared militant groups in India's Jammu-Kashmir state. It is among about a dozen groups fighting security forces to separate Kashmir from Indian control or to merge with Pakistan, India's western neighbor and rival.
Security officials often identify Islamic militants from documents found on their bodies, such as hotel bills, letters, family photographs and identity cards.
However, there was no way to independently verify the identity of the men killed and arrested Saturday night. Kumar said the arrested men had confessed to their identities and told police the vehicle license plate number of their accomplices, who were later killed in an ambush.
Police arrested two more men Sunday morning in the town of Bulandshahar in the northern Uttar Pradesh state neighboring India's capital, Kumar said. This raid was made on the basis of information from the men arrested Saturday and documents found on the bodies of the dead men, Kumar said.
The police action came days after two car bombings in Bombay, India's financial capital, that killed 52 people and injured 150 at a tourist hub and a busy trading area.
Kumar urged residents of New Delhi to be alert to prevent terrorist attacks, "particularly in the light of the coming festival season, which will be a very lucrative target."
He asked people to be careful when renting apartments to strangers or selling cars. Several previous attacks have been carried out by attackers in used cars bought a few days before the attacks.
"The need for vigilance by the public in conjunction with the police will help make Delhi safer," Kumar said.
It was not immediately clear whether the developments would have an impact on shaky peace efforts between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since 1947. They came to the brink of a fourth war after the Parliament attack, when they massed nearly 1 million troops along their border. However, intense diplomatic efforts led by the United States helped avert war.
Saturday's gunfight in New Delhi occurred after police intercepted a car in which the two militants were traveling, Kumar said. The gunfight came hours after police seized a truck carrying grenades at Sadar Bazar, a trading hub in central New Delhi. The grenades and other weapons were hidden inside fruit boxes, Kumar said.
The three detained men said during interrogation that the weapons were to be handed over later Saturday to the slain militants.
"Accordingly, we laid a trap. When we intercepted them, they tried to flee and were killed," Kumar said.
Earlier Saturday, police on a routine patrol of the city's main train station found a bag that contained about 47 pounds of explosives on a railway platform. It was safely disposed of.
New Delhi has been on high alert since the Bombay terrorist attacks. Media reports have quoted police as saying that Islamic militants were plotting attacks in New Delhi, prompting tougher security checks on vehicles coming into the city.
Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since they received independence from Britain in 1947. The Indian portion is the only Muslim-majority state in Hindu-majority India, and the insurgency by Islamic militants since 1989 has resulted in the deaths of some 63,000 people.