‘Terror attack had the Qaeda stamp’

NEW DELHI: Security agencies have traced two calls, made minutes after the serial blasts shook Mumbai on Tuesday, to locations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Made from Borivli and Malad at about 6:35pm, the calls were meant to apprise the “bosses” that the task had been accomplished. An intelligence source said the calls were made from fixed line telephones, which have been put under surveillance.

Security agencies said the calls indicate the involvement of a “foreign hand”. They are probing “strong hints of a Qaeda link”. They see the terrorist group’s stamp in the scale of the strike, its methodical planning and execution.

To some, there is also a significance to the date (July 11, like September 11 for the World Trade Centre and March 11 for the Madrid bombings), which they believe Al Qaeda has an affinity for. Parallels are being drawn to the bombing of rail networks in Madrid and London, also linked to Al Qaeda.

While security agencies are certain that Al Qaeda’s involvement extends beyond general approval, they are still trying to ascertain whether the attack was merely “inspired” or actually masterminded by it.

Another factor is the recent build-up of the group’s presence in Pakistan. “Pakistan-based terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami are members of the Qaeda-led International Islamic Front,” said an officer.

The blasts could have been executed by any of these outfits. LeT and the Hizb are prime suspects, despite their denials.

The banned Students Islamic Movement of India is suspected of having provided the local contacts and logistical support.

But the intelligence source also cautioned that Al Qaeda has now “become a brand name and is sometimes used loosely”. The group’s last-known direct presence in India was in 1993.

But one thing is clear. India is now on the Qaeda map. It has been carrying on an anti-India campaign since US President George W Bush’s visit in March, talking of a Crusader-Jewish-Hindu conspiracy against Islam. Osama bin Laden highlighted this in his April 23 message.

According to analyst B Raman, the blasts in Madrid and London were preceded by Al Qaeda propaganda against those countries. So, the organisation’s anti-India statements since March 2006 cannot be dismissed lightly.