US State Department adds Indian Mujahideen to list of terror groups
Today, the US State Department added the Indian Mujahideen to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations as well as to the list of specially designated global terrorist entities. The designation allows the US to freeze the group's assets, and prevents individuals from providing support to the terror organization.
State described the terror group as "an India-based terrorist group with significant links to Pakistan," and said it is "responsible for dozens of bomb attacks throughout India since 2005, and has caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians."
"IM [Indian Mujahideen] maintains close ties to other US- designated terrorist entities including Pakistan-based Lashkar e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) and Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI)," the statement explained. "IM's stated goal is to carry out terrorist actions against non-Muslims in furtherance of its ultimate objective - an Islamic Caliphate across South Asia."
The Indian Mujahideen's "primary method of attack is multiple coordinated bombings in crowded areas against economic and civilian targets to maximize terror and casualties," State continued, and said the group was involved in the terror attack in Pune in 2010 (17 people killed), New Delhi in 2008 (30 people killed), and Ahmedabad in 2008 (38 people killed). The terror group "played a facilitative role in the 2008 Mumbai attack carried out by LeT that killed 163 people, including six Americans."
While not stated in the State Dept. release, the Indian Mujahideen is suspected of conducting numerous other attacks in India, including the July 13 bombings in Mumbai that killed 21 people, and the Sept. 7 attack outside a courthouse in Delhi that killed 11 people (both the Indian Mujahideen and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami claimed credit for this attack).
In the past, the existence of the Indian Mujahideen was denied by India's Intelligence Bureau. Instead the Bureau has claimed that the terror group is a front group created by the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, or HUJI-B, an al Qaeda affiliate. According to the Bureau, HUJI-B created the Indian Mujahideen to confuse investigators and cover the tracks of the Students Islamic Movement of India, or SIMI, which provides logistics for the attacks.
SIMI is itself a front group for the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and Lashkar-e-Taiba inside India. It receives support from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and is an al Qaeda affiliate. SIMI provides logistical support for attacks in India.
The designation of the Indian Mujahideen was characterized by the State Dept. as a demonstration of the US government's solidarity with India.
"These designations highlight the threat posed by IM not only to Western interests, but to India, a close US partner. The Indian populace has borne the brunt of IM's wanton violence and today's actions illustrate our solidarity with the Indian Government," Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, the Department of State's Coordinator for Counterterrorism, was quoted as saying in the press release.
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Find related articles: Al Qaeda, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, India, Indian Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Pakistan
READER COMMENTS: "US State Department adds Indian Mujahideen to list of terror groups"
Posted by Kulamarva Balakrishna at September 15, 2011 1:43 PM ET:
Vienna,15-09-2011
We are all concerned with the harm being done to
peace loving people everywhere in the world by the
terrorists.We are also sensitive when we are compelled
to brand them as Muslim since that would mean
blaming the whole indiscriminately. Human rights
activists are concerned at FBI orientation briefings
intended to identify homeland security risks.My
suggestion is to create a standard global reference
work like an Islamic Encyclopedia subject wise
listed like 1.Qu´ran,2.hadiths,3.the core of umma,
4.the heretic sects,5. the sum substance of sharia
laws for ready ready reference to help creating
individual profiles of immigrants by law enforcement
and homeland security authorities. The standard
work should be acknowledged by the United Nations.
Besides the United Nations approved standard
visa application forms where applicants should
declare their beliefs and the identities of sects
they belong to in their beliefs. I think this should help
in identifying individuals of potential threat. As for
Indian Mujahideen, the Indian originators of it are
sheltered in Pakistan and they are both in U.S.wanted
terrorist list and Indian list of wanted men handed
over to Pakistan some 15 years ago and updated
by the Minister of Home Affairs on regular basis.
The information should be easily available on
devoted website. Are any takers for my suggestion?
Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring TTTMM
India --Kulamarva Balakrishna
Posted by Dingo Dan at September 15, 2011 2:10 PM ET:
Finally a State Department designation that didnt take ten years. They nearly halved the time it typically takes to designate a group. This group has only been around for half a decade before they got around to it.
Posted by M. Muthuswamy at September 15, 2011 2:16 PM ET:
My recent book – Defeating Political Islam: The New Cold War – outlines in detail how Muslim community in India was deliberately and systematically indoctrinated by the likes of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
The so-called Indian Mujahideen is a symptom of the underlying problem, just as Al Qaeda is…
Posted by Charu at September 15, 2011 2:52 PM ET:
Nice gesture. Perhaps now there will be some action against these Pakistani proxies, since the feckless Indian government has shown no ability to respond or even learn for past mistakes. The money funding these Pakistani-sponsored terrorist activities come for the Gulf states and from Saudi Arabia, and the Indians have no clout with them unlike Pakistan who provides them with mercenaries to keep their minorities under heel. Only when the financial interests of these petro-financiers of terrorism are threatened by the international community acting in concordance will the spigot be turned off. As history has repeatedly demonstrated, we ignore these regional Islamic terrorists at our peril because sooner or later they will turn their aim at our citizens and our interests.
Posted by Villiger at September 17, 2011 8:58 AM ET:
A good article on IM's mentors across the border, LeT
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MI14Df03.html
Posted by Jai Sharma at September 18, 2011 4:28 AM ET:
The epicenter of SIMI terrorism in India can be traced to Kerala especially Malabar region.However it will not be highlighted as the corrupt and week police agencies in the Indian State of Kerala always end most of the investigations with out any conclusion usually due to pressures from ruling parties.