NEWS

UP blasts a terror attack; Harkat owns up

By Vicky Nanjappa
November 23, 2007

The Harkat-ul-Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the simultaneous blasts in the court premises of three Uttar Pradesh towns on Friday, Intelligence Bureau officials have told rediff.com.

They added that it could be a false claim and either the Lashkar-e-Tayiba or the Jaish-e-Mohammed might also be behind the blasts.

The agency, however, confirmed that it s a terror attack.

Sources said the blasts were serial in nature, and only terrorist outfits have the expertise to carry out a coordinated attack.

The courts were hearing the Ram Janmabhoomi case and though this attack, the terrorists could have tried to send a strong message to the judiciary. Incidentally, this is the first time that the judiciary in the country has been targeted.

The sources said even the Intelligence Bureau did not have any information about a possible attack on the judiciary.

A senior Intelligence Bureau official said the country is communally fragile at the moment, and through these blasts, the terrorist may have tried to create communal tension across the country.

IB reports had pointed out that there was a possibility of an attack following the Nandigram violence, but there was no specific information as to where the blasts would happen.

The Uttar Pradsh police pointed out the blasts could have been retaliation for the arrest of three Jaish-e-Mohammad militants last week.

The police said the lawyers had roughed up these militants, which could have been a cause to further the anger of the terror outfits.

The Intelligence Bureau said these issues are too meek for a terror strike. They said it is too early to pinpoint as to which outfit could have undertaken these attacks.

Vicky Nanjappa

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