Top > World > 2006 > July > 2006-07-27

American Embassy in India Prepares for Possible Attack

While terrorism in India is far from unheard of ? just a couple of weeks ago, a major terror attack on a Mumbai (Bombay) train line killed around 200 ?usually targeted are Hindu or general Indian population centers. These days, though, it is the United States Embassy in the Indian capital of New Delhi that is warning about the possibility of a terrorist attack being carried out against it. The terrorist attacks are usually blamed on Kashmiri separatists working with the tacit support of the Pakistani government, which Islamabad will deny whenever there is a terror attack in India.

According to a government source, ?The US embassy has been on an extremely high state of alert and things will remain the same for the next few days. The input has even identified one of the men likely to participate in the attack and efforts are on to establish his presence.? Like other terrorist suspects in the area, many are pointing fingers at Kashmiri terrorist organizations, though Iranian and Afghan suspects are also believed to be in on the plot. Pakistan, backer of the Kashmir separatists, is a close ally of the United States in the War on Terror. The warning is in effect until at least July 30.

Terrorist attacks at U.S. consular posts in Pakistan have taken place in the past, and given the region?s closeness to Afghanistan as well as tensions over the recent Israel-Hizballah war and sectarian violence in Iraq, it is possible that this terror attack ? while planned far in advance ? was timed to coincide with some else?s schedule. Of course, in the world of Islamic terrorism, that someone else is bound to be Iran.