U.S. Embassy in India Warns Americans about Imminent Bombings

An e-mail was sent to American citizens in India Friday saying that India’s capital city, New Delhi, and its financial center, Bombay, are the targets of an alleged terrorist plot. The e-mail said that there may be terrorist bombings in those cities in the coming days because of India’s Independence Day, which is August 15.

The U.S. Embassy’s warning for India said that "likely targets include major airports, key central Indian government offices, and major gathering places such as hotels and markets." The embassy has confirmed that it did send the e-mail, and the chief secretary of India’s Mharshtra state confirmed that authorities had received intelligence about a possible terrorist attack.

The news of this alleged plot came just a day after British police announced that they had thwarted a terrorist plot to blow up U.S.-bound airplanes out of London’s Heathrow airport. Investigators have said that the airline attacks were planned to use common electronic devices to detonate liquid explosives, to blow up as many as 10 jetliners simultaneously. Both terrorist plots in the U.K. and India are believed to be linked to al-Qaida members. However, the alleged plot in India appears to be separate from the reported plan to blow up airliners, and instead is said to be tied to Independence Day celebrations.

The Press Trust of India reported Friday that police in New Delhi had arrested two members of a Pakistani Islamic militant group and thwarted a terror plot by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a group that is believed to have ties to al-Qaida. The group is suspected in a number of bombings in India, including the attacks on Bombay’s commuter trains last month that killed 207 people. One of the two men, who were arrested late Thursday at New Delhi’s train station, is a Pakistani man identified only as Anaz, a native of Islamabad. The other man was identified as Abrar Ahmed, from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. When the two men were arrested, they were carrying 4.4 pounds of a powerful explosive known as RDX, as well as a huge quantity of other ammunition.

The e-mail sent by the embassy Friday morning urged all American citizens to maintain a low profile and pay attention to their surroundings between August 11 and August 16. Security has already been tightened all around the country because of the coming Independence Day celebrations. The middle of August is always a time when there is a heightened risk of attacks being launched by militants from any of the many regional separatists movements around the country. India’s Chief Secretary D.K. Sankaran did not provide details of the terror plot announced by the embassy, but said that "adequate security measures are being taken at sensitive installations, offices, and areas."