http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/18_bombs_found_defused_in_Surat_so_far/ar
ticleshow/3300863.cms
Surat escapes attack, 18 bombs defused
30 Jul 2008, 0020 hrs IST,TNN
AHMEDABAD/SURAT: On the morning after the Ahmedabad serial blasts, The Times
of India ran the headline - Bangalore, Ahmedabad. Who's Next? The answer is
here. With two explosives-packed cars and 18 bombs being discovered across
Surat, it's clear that terrorists had planned a deadly serial attack on the
diamond capital of India. ( Watch
<http://broadband.indiatimes.com/videoshow/3302855.cms> )
Gujarat's second largest city would have been sucked into another round of
tragedy had the terrorists succeeded in blowing up what appears to be at
least three dozen bombs - between the incendiary material found in WagonRs
on Sunday and the assembled bombs discovered in the densely populated city
on Tuesday. Surat is home to a Rs 70,000 crore diamond industry.
Late on Tuesday, media organizations in Gujarat received two emails
threatening more terror attacks. "Indian Mujahideen will not stop even if
our mission in Surat failed," said one email sent from
[EMAIL PROTECTED] It was not clear if the emails came from a terrorist
outfit or were just pranks. Police hope to get leads by Wednesday.
The discoveries in Surat brought relief but raised deadlier questions. How
come a huge operation involving three of the country's largest cities
escaped the intelligence radar? Did a police crackdown in Surat following
the Ahmedabad blasts trigger sufficient panic among the merchants of death
to abandon their deadly cargo? And abandon it carelessly enough - one of
them on a tree top!
The discovery was also often quite by chance. Sanjay Kaporia (35), a
lace-cloth supplier from Varachha, for instance, saw something odd in the
dustbin outside his shop. Unmindful of the risk, he walked with the live
bomb for 22 metres to Labeshwar police chowki. "I thought it is best to
bring it here," he said. Bhimji Budhna, BJP councillor from Varachha, also
detected one. "I was passing by Mini Market when I saw a green plastic bag
stuck between signboards of two shops. It looked like a bomb, like the ones
I've seen on TV. So I called the police."
Surat top cop wants more bomb disposal personnel
Surat police commissioner, R M S Brar, claimed that the bombs found in Surat
were abandoned on Monday night. He has asked for more bomb disposal
personnel. Surat's escape from terror was providential.
It was clearly in the jihadi crosshairs, even though Surat remained an
island of peace while the rest of Gujarat burned during riots in 2002. There
were no answers from security agencies, completely confounded by the rapid
unfolding of what now has emerged as the biggest serial terror plot in
independent India. Brar said he didn't know what's going on.
"But we'll get to the bottom of this," he promised. Brar said that after the
Ahmedabad blasts, his officers had gone on a public awareness spree, asking
them to maintain vigil and report anything unusual to the cops. Policemen
also set up checkpoints and roadblocks around the city.
The first inkling of the impending attacks came on Sunday when the two cars
were found with ammonium nitrate, shrapnel, detonators and binding agents
for bombs. By Tuesday morning, the evidence was overwhelming. Citizens found
18 more bombs strewn around the buzzing diamond-studded Varachha area,
densely populated marketplaces, road dividers, a tree and a hoarding on a
flyover.
The bombs were similar to the boat-shaped devices which caused devastation
in Ahmedabad on Saturday, killing 52 people. However, unlike the timers used
in Ahmedabad, the Surat bombs used integrated circuits as a trigger which,
miraculously, malfunctioned.
It was a day of frantic activity as bombs seemed to crop up every hour. An
overworked bomb disposal squad rushed from one site to another, attending to
maximum calls in Varachha, the heart of the diamond industry which houses
hundreds of diamond polishing units. The bombs in Varachha were recovered
from Matawadi, Mini Bazaar, Bhavna Ford, J D Restaurant and Hira Baug
Circle. Other bombs were recovered from Mahidharpura diamond market, Gajera
School Circle in Katargam and Bhavani Gems Circle on A K Road.
Police requested residents and shopowners to report suspicious objects
wrapped in green packing. There was panic in Mini Bazaar which is a narrow
and crowded lane where thousands of diamond merchants gather for trading. A
bomb was visible from behind an ad hoarding on the Varachha flyover.
Explosive questions
Why were two cars with enough material to make 12 bombs abandoned in Surat
on Sunday?
Did the terrorist cell in Surat develop cold feet after the police stepped
up operations?
Did the high Ahmedabad toll force the Surat terror cell to change plans
fearing a Muslim backlash?
Why did none of the 18 bombs discovered in Surat explode?
How could a group show such expert evil skills in Ahmedabad but goof up in
Surat?
Why did the terror group not trash the bombs at one place instead of leaving
them scattered all over?
All bombs found in Ahmedabad & Surat were identical in design, size, weight
& used same amount of explosives. Is there a bomb factory waiting to be
unearthed?
Why were integrated circuits, and not timers (used in Ahmedabad) deployed in
the Surat bombs?
How did the planting of the bombs go unnoticed despite the heightened state
of alert?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
--------------------------
Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL
PROTECTED]
--------------------------
Brooks Isoldi, editor
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.intellnet.org
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has
not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of
The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT
YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of
intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods,
techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other
intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use
this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,'
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
