The Long War Journal: 61 killed in multiple bombings in India

Written by Bill Roggio on October 30, 2008 11:49 AM to The Long War Journal

Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/10/61_killed_in_multipl.php

Aftermath of one of the 13 bombings in Assam.

India has been hit with another coordinated bombing attack, this time in four districts in the eastern state of Assam. Sixty-one Indians were killed and more than 470 were wounded in the multiple blasts.

The bombs were detonated almost simultaneously around 11:30 local time today. Thirteen bombs were detonated in markets, a court office, and near the Assam state capital. The attacks, like previous attacks in India the past several years, were designed to maximize casualties.

Indian officials first pointed the finger at the United Liberation Front of Assam, a separatist movement in the state. UFLA has denied any involvement in the attack.

Police accused "jihadi" groups of conducting the strike. "The needle of suspicion points to jihadi outfits who are behind subversive activities in the state," a police official told The Hindu. Police have detected the explosive RDX in at least two of the bombs. RDX has been used by Islamist terror groups in past attacks in India.

The primary suspect in the attacks is the Bangladesh-based Harkat ul Jihad al Islami, or HuJI-B. This terror group has been behind multiple bombings in India over the past several years. Police have sealed the border with Bangladesh. Troops on the border have been "put on maximum alert," The Hindu reported.

Background on the HUJI-B and allied Indian terror groups

The Bangladeshi branch of HuJI was established in 1992 "with assistance from Osama bin Laden’s International Islamic Front," according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

HuJI-B fighters are recruited from madrassa, or religious schools, in Bangladesh and are trained in al Qaeda and Taliban camps Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Bangladeshi terror group plays a crucial role in training jihadists "from southern Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Brunei" and providing manpower for al Qaeda's affiliates in Jammu and Kashmir, Afghanistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Chechnya.

Indian intelligence claims HuJI-B created a front group called the Indian Mujahideen to confuse investigators and cover the tracks of the Students' Islamic Movement of India, or SIMI, a radical Islamist movement. The group receives support from Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence and is an al Qaeda affiliate. SIMI provides logistical support for attacks in India.

SIMI has been implicated in two other major attacks in India since 2006. SIMI is said to have helped the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba conduct the attack on the Samjhauta Express rail line to Pakistan in February 2007 and the Mumbai rail line bombings in July 2006. The attack on the Samjhauta Express resulted in more than 67 Indians killed and 15 wounded. The Mumbai rail bombings resulted in 63 civilians killed and more than 460 wounded.

Indian security forces have cracked down on SIMI over the past year, but police and intelligence officials believe the recent attack show the movement has regenerated its leadership.

The Indian Mujahideen took credit for multiple attacks in India this past year. An e-mail from an Indian Mujahideen operative said the group was responsible for the Sept. 13 attacks in New Delhi. Eighteen civilians were killed and more than 90 were reported wounded in the coordinated attack. The group claimed credit for the July 25 and 26 bombings in Ahmedabad and Bangalore. At least 36 Indians were killed and more than 120 were wounded in attacks.

The Indian Mujahideen also took credit for the May bombings in Jaipur and said the attacks were intended to disrupt the tourist economy. The group sent videos to the media using an e-mail address that is nearly identical to the one used to announce the attacks in Uttar Pradesh in November 2007. The Jaipur blasts killed more than 60 and wounded more than 200, while the Uttar Pradesh attacks killed 14 and wounded more than 50.