Pakistan based LeT plots terror attack on 'crowded places', Delhi on high alert

The national capital has been put on high alert after Delhi Police registered an FIR detailing a possible "terror strike" by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, a top police officer said in New Delhi today.[caption id="attachment_2490020" align="alignleft" width="380"] Kashmiri villagers carry the body of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Abdul Rehman alias Abu Qasim, on October 29,2015, during his funeral at Kulgam, south of Srinagar. AFP[/caption]The officer, on the condition of anonymity said that the Special Cell unearthed the "terror strike" conspiracy after receiving an intelligence input in November about two suspected LeT operatives infiltrated in Jammu and Kashmir through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.The Indian Express reports that the LeT is seeking revenge for the death of senior strategist Abdul Rahman alias Qasim. Qasim was the brain behind the Udhampur attack in August that killed two BSF personnel and wounded 12."The FIR mentioned two suspected LeT operatives, identified as Dujana and Ukasha, who are believed to be planning terror strike in Delhi and other parts of the country are hiding in the country with aliases Numan, Zaidi and Khurseed," the officer said.The source said that the LeT operatives were in constant touch with their commanders and conspiring to target "high profile personalities" and "crowded places" in Delhi."They are planning to carry out fidayeen and grenade attacks in Delhi and other places in the country," the source said.Senior officers in Delhi Police have directed its Special Cell unit to start search for the two alleged LeT operatives by deploying its informers and mounting technical surveillance.Police is looking for about 10 persons who infiltrated through Kashmir. The case was registered on December 1 after the Delhi Police’s anti-terror unit received an intelligence input that two suspected LeT operatives had infiltrated via Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in November.“The police have been advised to enhance security in the capital and check thoroughly for suspicious objects. All entry and exit points in the capital are also to be manned thoroughly,” a senior police officer said.“The LeT operatives were in constant touch with their commanders and are conspiring to target high profile personalities and crowded places in Delhi,” the officer claimed, adding that they could be planning to carry out suicide and grenade attacks.The LeT was founded in 1987 by Hafez Saeed, Abdullah Azzam and Zafar Iqbal in Afghanistan, with funding from Osama Bin Laden. With its headquarters based in Muridke, near Lahore in Punjab province of Pakistan, the group operates several training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.Lashkar-e-Taiba has been accused by India of attacking military and civilian targets in India, most notably the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Its stated objective is to introduce an Islamic state in South Asia and to "liberate" Muslims residing in Indian Kashmir. The organization is banned as a terrorist organization by India, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia and Australia. Though formally banned by Pakistan, the general view of India and the Western countries, including of experts such as former French investigating magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière and New America Foundation president Steve Coll believe that Pakistan's main intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), continues to give LeT help and protection. The political arm of the group, Jamat ud Dawah, was banned in Pakistan. However, Jamaat-ud-Dawa still continues to work openly as Lashkar-e-Taiba's charitable wing.(With IANS input)