I have been in touch with several correspondents from India today over the July 11 commuter train bombing in Mumbai (formerly Bombay),and can tell you the mood there is not fear - but rage.
The bombing is being viewed there as " yet another cross-border incident " : conceived,planned,nurtured,and equipped in Pakistan by organizations that have long-standing ties to Pakistan's ISI security services.
Casualties from the Mumbai attack are staggering: at least 200 dead,and over 600 injured.(One of my correspondents stepped out on the street after the blasts and saw at least 15 mutilated corpses within yards of his doorway.)
Police have determined the explosive used was RDX -usually,but not always a military product- and that timers were used to delay the explosions until the perpetrators could leave the crowded commuter train.
Over 350 people have been detained and questioned, and two suspects have been identified, so far.
The names of two groups have come to the forefront:
Lashkar -e- Taiba (LET) -whose name, loosely translated,means "Army of the Righteous" ; and
Hizb-ul-Mujahadeen (HM) "The Holy Warriors";
Both are based in Pakistan, and are said to operate with the support and assistance of Pakistan's Intelligence Services. LET operatives have turned up in Baghdad, and Indian Intelligence believes there may be a handful of members in the United States.
The Mumbai train bombing is viewed as a cross-border incident : in part because of intercepted "congratulatory" phone messages between Pakistan and the Mumbai vicinity ; and in part because there has been a history of such incidents in the not-so-distant past.
In 1999, guerrillas wearing "army" uniforms crossed from Pakistan into India:catching Indian troops off guard,and inflicting heavy casualties before they were killed or driven off. Some of the dead "guerrillas" were found to be wearing Pakistani Army dog tags, and their weapons were all standard Pakistani issue.
On December 13,2001,LET terrorists launched a violent attack-with rifles,grenades,and other explosives on India's Parliament House: causing serious casualties.The incident came close to triggering all-out war between India and Pakistan.
It's quite understandable that the world (and the sensation-hungry media) are all caught up in the Israel/Lebanon crisis : which could- in very short order turn into something fightening;but it is well to remember another potential bomb is ticking on the Indian sub-continent : one in which nuclear-armed protagonists are standing toe to toe.
There is little we can do but rely on the common-sense of both nations.
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