11-27-2007, 12:28 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Jihadis target judiciary
Pioneer.com
B Raman
The serial bombings in UP have an ominous message: Courts trying terrorists will now be under attack
At least 14 people were killed in seven well-synchronised explosions near court premises in three cities of Uttar Pradesh -- Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad -- on November 23. The explosions took place within about five minutes of each other. The improvised explosive devices, attached to bicycles, do not appear to have been of a sophisticated kind.
Initial reports indicated the possible use of ammonium nitrate, which has been increasingly used in different terrorist incidents in many parts of the world since the explosion in the New York World Trade Centre in February 1993. But the synchronisation of the blasts in three different cities around the same time indicate a certain sophistication in planning and execution.
We have had well-synchronised multiple explosions in Mumbai in March 1993 by the mafia gang of Dawood Ibrahim and in July, 2006, allegedly by Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, and in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu in February 1998 by Al Ummah.
But we have not had well-synchronised multiple blasts in different cities since 1993, when the Students' Islamic Movement of India carried out synchronised explosions in different trains. But its synchronisation was not of a high order. The Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen of Bangladesh carried out nearly 400 synchronised blasts all over Bangladesh in August 2005.
<b>Though 13 people, mostly lawyers, were killed, causing mass casualties does not appear to have been the objective.</b> As in the case of the 400 blasts in Bangladesh, which caused not more than 10 fatalities, the purpose seems to have been to intimidate and demonstrate the reach and capability of the perpetrators. The explosions were synchronised to take place after the Friday prayers. Jihadi organisations prefer to organise their terrorist strikes on Fridays.
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The Uttar Pradesh explosions have come in the wake of the judgements delivered recently in respect of the Mumbai serial bombings of March 1993 and the Coimbatore serial blasts of February 1998. In both the cases, a number of terrorists have been found guilty and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. These have also come after the arrest of three suspected members of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Uttar Pradesh. These jihadis were alleged to have planned to kidnap a dignitary in order to secure the release of Mohammed Afzal, who has been sentenced to death for his role in the attack on Parliament in December 2001. His mercy petition is under examination by the Government.
The arrested JeM terrorists were alleged to have been beaten up by some lawyers when they were brought to court. The local lawyers have also reportedly refused to defend terrorists in future.<b> It is likely that the explosions were meant to intimidate the criminal justice community, particularly the lawyers</b>.
It has been reported that an e-mail message purported to be from 'Indian Mujahideen' received by some television channels before the explosions indicated that these bombings were about to take place. However, it referred to explosions in two and not three cities. 'Indian Mujahideen' does not refer to any organisation; it refers to Indian Muslims in general and says that the latter have decided to take the offensive and wage jihad.
In justification of this decision, it refers to the penalties awarded to the accused in the Mumbai blasts of March 1993. It also refers to the post-Godhra Gujarat violence in 2002 and the recent assault on arrested JeM suspects by lawyers.
<b>The message is not only a warning of their intention to act, but also an explanation of why Indian Muslims have decided to act. </b>The main point, which <b>the sender of the message has sought to convey, is that the criminal justice system treats Muslims 'severely', but is 'lenient' towards Hindus.</b> The language used is typically Indian, the context and arguments used are typically of Indian Muslims and the issues raised are those which have been agitating the minds of a section of Indian Muslims (such as the demolition of Babri Masjid in December 1992).
It admits that Muslims were responsible for the explosions in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai and at a restaurant and park in Hyderabad, but says they were not responsible for the blasts in Malegaon in September 2006, in the Samjauta Express and the Mecca Masjid of Hyderabad this year. It is silent on the recent blast in the Ajmer Sharif, a Muslim holy place famous for its tolerant Sufi tradition.
It says that Indian Muslims have decided to wage a jihad for Islamic rule and talks of a "war for civilisation". It warns that their next target will be police officers. Keeping in view that the 15th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid is just a fortnight away, we should be alert to the possibility of more explosions in the days to come, possibly directed against the police.
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Pioneer.com
B Raman
The serial bombings in UP have an ominous message: Courts trying terrorists will now be under attack
At least 14 people were killed in seven well-synchronised explosions near court premises in three cities of Uttar Pradesh -- Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad -- on November 23. The explosions took place within about five minutes of each other. The improvised explosive devices, attached to bicycles, do not appear to have been of a sophisticated kind.
Initial reports indicated the possible use of ammonium nitrate, which has been increasingly used in different terrorist incidents in many parts of the world since the explosion in the New York World Trade Centre in February 1993. But the synchronisation of the blasts in three different cities around the same time indicate a certain sophistication in planning and execution.
We have had well-synchronised multiple explosions in Mumbai in March 1993 by the mafia gang of Dawood Ibrahim and in July, 2006, allegedly by Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, and in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu in February 1998 by Al Ummah.
But we have not had well-synchronised multiple blasts in different cities since 1993, when the Students' Islamic Movement of India carried out synchronised explosions in different trains. But its synchronisation was not of a high order. The Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen of Bangladesh carried out nearly 400 synchronised blasts all over Bangladesh in August 2005.
<b>Though 13 people, mostly lawyers, were killed, causing mass casualties does not appear to have been the objective.</b> As in the case of the 400 blasts in Bangladesh, which caused not more than 10 fatalities, the purpose seems to have been to intimidate and demonstrate the reach and capability of the perpetrators. The explosions were synchronised to take place after the Friday prayers. Jihadi organisations prefer to organise their terrorist strikes on Fridays.
Â
The Uttar Pradesh explosions have come in the wake of the judgements delivered recently in respect of the Mumbai serial bombings of March 1993 and the Coimbatore serial blasts of February 1998. In both the cases, a number of terrorists have been found guilty and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. These have also come after the arrest of three suspected members of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Uttar Pradesh. These jihadis were alleged to have planned to kidnap a dignitary in order to secure the release of Mohammed Afzal, who has been sentenced to death for his role in the attack on Parliament in December 2001. His mercy petition is under examination by the Government.
The arrested JeM terrorists were alleged to have been beaten up by some lawyers when they were brought to court. The local lawyers have also reportedly refused to defend terrorists in future.<b> It is likely that the explosions were meant to intimidate the criminal justice community, particularly the lawyers</b>.
It has been reported that an e-mail message purported to be from 'Indian Mujahideen' received by some television channels before the explosions indicated that these bombings were about to take place. However, it referred to explosions in two and not three cities. 'Indian Mujahideen' does not refer to any organisation; it refers to Indian Muslims in general and says that the latter have decided to take the offensive and wage jihad.
In justification of this decision, it refers to the penalties awarded to the accused in the Mumbai blasts of March 1993. It also refers to the post-Godhra Gujarat violence in 2002 and the recent assault on arrested JeM suspects by lawyers.
<b>The message is not only a warning of their intention to act, but also an explanation of why Indian Muslims have decided to act. </b>The main point, which <b>the sender of the message has sought to convey, is that the criminal justice system treats Muslims 'severely', but is 'lenient' towards Hindus.</b> The language used is typically Indian, the context and arguments used are typically of Indian Muslims and the issues raised are those which have been agitating the minds of a section of Indian Muslims (such as the demolition of Babri Masjid in December 1992).
It admits that Muslims were responsible for the explosions in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai and at a restaurant and park in Hyderabad, but says they were not responsible for the blasts in Malegaon in September 2006, in the Samjauta Express and the Mecca Masjid of Hyderabad this year. It is silent on the recent blast in the Ajmer Sharif, a Muslim holy place famous for its tolerant Sufi tradition.
It says that Indian Muslims have decided to wage a jihad for Islamic rule and talks of a "war for civilisation". It warns that their next target will be police officers. Keeping in view that the 15th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid is just a fortnight away, we should be alert to the possibility of more explosions in the days to come, possibly directed against the police.
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