New Delhi (India) February 21:Two IEDs were discovered in Punjab and Kashmir as security forces issued a high alert, signalling that a terror attack by Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) could take place in Delhi . The authorities have not connected the IED recovery to the earlier warning concerning the terror plot, but the date of the attacks has prompted concern.
IEDs Near Police Post in Amritsar Defused
In Punjab, on Friday, an IED was discovered within a suspicious bag near the Rayya police post in Amritsar. The bomb disposal squad was rushed to the scene and the IED was diffused, police said.
"A suspicious bag was spotted close to the police chowk. Immediately, the bomb disposal squad was called, and they confirmed it as an IED. Later, as per the protocol, it was diffused," SSP Sohail Qasim Mir said.
Army, Police Neutralize IED in Kashmir
Another IED was discovered in Safapora, Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. The IED was intercepted by the army bomb detection squad (BDS) and J&K police, and it was defused within hours.
It is the fourth IED discovered in Northern India in the previous four days, and three other similar devices have been found and diffused in Ganderbal, Bandipora and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
LeT Plot Targets Delhi Temples, Red Fort
The move follows security agencies warning of a potential terror plot by Lashkar targeting religious and tourist attractions in Delhi. In a report published in recent days by the United Nations counter-terrorism monitoring team, Jaish was linked to the Red Fort blast.
After the latest alert, increased security has been declared along major temples and markets in the national capital and surrounding the Red Fort.
Pakistan Blames India for Islamabad Blast
The terror outfit is supposedly trying to "avenge" a suicide bombing that took place on Feb. 6 in Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad, sources cited. That blast killed at least 31 people. Pakistan has long suggested outside complicity in the Islamabad explosion, an assertion India has unequivocally rejected in a statement issued earlier this month.
India said, “It is unfortunate that, instead of seriously addressing the problems plaguing its social fabric, Pakistan should choose to delude itself by blaming others for its home-grown ills. India rejects any and every such allegation, which is as baseless as it is pointless”.
Chandni Chowk Temple on Terror Hit List
The intelligence inputs have indicated that a temple in Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk area could also be among the possible potential targets. The conspiracy could involve terrorists who might be plotting an IED attack at and in and around sensitive areas, particularly near the Red Fort.
That same Red Fort had been targeted three months ago, after a fatal car explosion near the historic tourist precinct killed 12 people and injured more than 20 at the site.
The attack was a white-collar terror module, backed by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.