Given the simple modus operandi involved in the twin blasts in Hyderabad on August 25 and the recovery of two unexploded bombs, has led leading US strategic group STRATFOR to conclude that Pakistans Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) may not be behind the blasts.
Washington/New Delhi, Aug 29 : Given the 'simple' modus operandi involved in the twin blasts in Hyderabad on August 25 and the recovery of two unexploded bombs, has led leading US strategic group STRATFOR to conclude that Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) may not be behind the blasts.
In an intelligence report released by the group, it has been said that the recovery of the two unexploded bombs highlights the 'low level' of professionalism of the terrorist group who are said to be behind the blasts.
"The simplicity of the attack and the lack of skill on the part of the bomb maker suggest there was no ISI connection," the report stated, adding: "The operatives trained and directed by the ISI tend to be more professional than those behind this latest attack."
The report further states that commercial and not military explosives were used in the latest attack.
"An ISI-connected operation likely would have involved military explosives (like RDX)," it added.
Though the report does not link the latest blasts with the earlier Mecca Masjid blast, where military explosives were used, it states that the terror outfits involved in both incidents are not very sophisticated.
"Although the Mecca Mosque bombing involved military explosives and targeted a different side of the communal line, there are many similarities between these attacks -- including intent, modus operandi and the level of professionalism," the report states.
However, it appears that if the same group is involved in both attacks, then they are getting 'deadlier' given the toll number. In the Mecca Masjid blast, the toll was five while the latest blasts claimed the lives of over 40 people.
As per the report, the group involved in the blast does not appear to be related with either Naxalites or those jihadists, who adhere to al Qaeda's targeting philosophy, but appears to have been conducted by Kashmiri-type Islamist militants seeking to specifically kill Hindus to stoke communal violence.
"The choice of targets in this attack says a great deal about the cell that staged it. Because the cell attacked soft Indian targets, rather than some of the many soft Western targets in and around the city -- Hyderabad is a hi-tech hub for Indian and Western corporations -- it clearly is focused on striking what jihadists term the "near enemy" (India) and not the "far enemy" of the United States and other Western powers," the report concluded.
The group's prime motive was to target Hindu sites to flare up communal violence, but they failed to plant bombs there due to enhanced security at religious sites.
In spite of the 'shortcomings' of the Indian intelligence that facilitated the terror group's easy access to explosive chemicals and the planting the bombs in the city, the group faced difficulty in hitting their target areas due to an intelligence warning that emanated just after the foiled London and Glasgow terror plots.
Indian security authorities had asked information technology companies in Hyderabad and other places to step up security, and threats that surfaced on August 21 in Chandigarh led to a state of heightened security at hi-tech companies in Bangalore and Hyderabad, according to STRATFOR.
The recovered unexploded bombs could help forensic and intelligence agencies to track the militant group, as the cartridges used would have lot numbers connected to the manufacturer and the last legitimate purchaser.
Further, other components used to construct the devices, such as the clocks used for the timers, the wires, the batteries and the containers, will be carefully studied and they will be checked for fingerprints and DNA evidence.
ANI