Intelligence and security agencies have been thrown into a tizzy following the interception of a satellite phone conversation between two operatives of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) that suggests the terror outfit is planning another attack using the sea route, on the lines of the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
Though the security establishment here is tight-lipped, highly placed government sources privy to the developments said the concerned security agencies and state police have been sensitised about the fresh terror input. In fact, sources added, the intercept clearly mentions that the Lashkar should send some men, initially, disguised as fishermen, to do a detailed recce of the coastline to assess security preparedness. The threat was greater along the Western coast.
“It is possible that this time around the terrorists may try and target vital installations along the sea, particularly in the oil sector,” a senior official remarked.
What the intelligence agencies are trying to ascertain is whether top LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, currently in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for the 26/11 attack, is the brain behind the threat as a few days ago Western intelligence agencies had intercepted calls between Lakhvi and other Lashkar operatives, proving that he was active even from jail.
RAW, too, had given the Indian government a similar report.
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Giant crack in Antarctic ice sheet
Washington, Nov. 4: A massive crack is growing wider in the Antarctic ice sheet and could break apart in the coming months, forming an iceberg the size of New York City, Nasa scientists warned on Thursday. The crack in western Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier stretches for at least 30 km and runs 50 metres deep. The rift is widening at a rate of two metres per day, said Nasa project scientist Michael Studinger. — AFP