Posted on 12/14/2001 11:15:28 AM PST by Shermy
Headline: Two months of planning, 20 involved
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police have established the suicide squad that stormed Parliament on Thursday comprised two Afghan nationals, two Kashmir residents and a Pakistan national.
Top police sources said the probe also indicated the five arrived in Delhi early on Thursday morning. A contact picked them in the same Ambassador car used in the attack. The attackers had entered Delhi in a fruit truck from Jammu, through the northwest Delhi border. They were later driven to the Walled City area, where the car was "prepared" for the attack and the weapons handed over to them.
"At least 20 people, apart from the five slain terrorists, were in some way involved in the planning of the audacious attack. It has possibly required over two months of planning and organising," an investigator said.
Late Thursday night, the police off-loaded two suspects from flights headed to Canada and the United States. The suspects were later identified as Shafique, a Canadian national, and Feroze Dosani, a US national. Both are of Pakistani origin, sources said.
A relative of a London-based Kashmiri militant leader was also among the people picked-up by the police. "The terrorists were armed to their teeth. They were carrying five rifles, pistols, grenades, explosives, detonators and phones. Their car was packed with over 30 kg of RDX," an officer said, saying it involved huge logistical support and local help to carry out the attack.
Police sources said that it is also suspected that the aim of the attack was not only to kill MPs but also possibly to take some of them hostage. Another possible target could have been the 24 member international delegation which was in the Parliament on Thursday.
Investigators have already rounded up over a dozen people for questioning.
Two of them are said to be Pakistani nationals. Sources said that the two Pakistanis were picked up from a New Delhi hotel minutes before they were to depart for Canada and the US.
The slain terrorists were found in possession of five mobile phones and a number of cash cards. The record of these phones was checked and this led us to the suspects we have so far rounded up," said a police official.
Also to come in the realm of suspicion are two Indian women residing in south Delhi. The exact nature of their involvement has not yet been revealed.
Sources said that the terrorists went to great detail while while planning the attack. A layout map of the Parliament was reportedly recovered from them. The map had important locations marked out in English.
"We also suspect that the terrorists surveyed the Parliament House before they carried out the attack. Though they may not have gained entry inside the building itself, it is possible that they did try and get as close as possible," said an official.
Investigations also suggest that the terrorists may have come prepared for a long drawn stake out. "The terrorists were carrying eatables in their bags. The eatables, primarily dried fruit and raisins, were nonperishable and meant to last a long time,’’ said a police officer.
The inclusion of eatables is even more significant when one considers that the terrorists must have sacrificed space in their bags which they could have used to stash ammunition and explosives. Instead, they chose to carry food. Also, sources pointed out, that had the intent only been to cause as much damage as possible in the last possible time, the terrorists would not have lugged along heavy bags stashed with ammunition, food and phones.
The hostage situation gains even more credibility considering that there were no less than 200 prized hostages inside the Parliament. The building was full of MPs and some ministers. The plan could well have been to take some of them hostages and then use them for negotiations. Also at the time of the attack there was a 24 member international delegation in the Parliament.
Had the terrorists been able to take them hostage, the ramifications would have been much more serious, said a police officer. The presence of five mobile phones and several cash cards also suggests that the terrorists were anticipating long telephonic conversations.
"All this only fits in when one considers a hostage situation. Though the signs all seem to point in that direction, it is, however, too early to rule out any other possibility," said a police officer.
Police officers said that the recovery of two identity cards of an Adarsh Nagar computer institute from the slain terrorists suggested that the terrorists may have used a hideout near Azadpur Mandi.
Comming from Afghanistan and Kashmir, it is fairly safe to assume they are Jihadists.
You probably should've qualified that.
Jeez,it was joke.
Kickin' butt and takin' names.
An Indian friend of mine who is completely Americanized (right down to his adoration of RWR) said that when he visited India a couple of years ago, he was stunned at how much cell phones and faxes had revolutionized communication in the city where he was born and raised until age 10.
They ought to make every middle eastern renounce these Islamic Fundamentalists. I just don't trust them anymore. This is not a good feeling, but they give me no recourse.
And these Pakistanis! I think they are going to come out of this smellin' of Islamic Fundamentalism and terrorism. Scary!
I have heard that they were on their way to Portland, Oregon.
(Why these Islamic terrorists wanted to go to Portland instead of Pakistan)
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