Al Qaida mulls suicide squads in India

Sources said that intelligence agencies had been working on some leads following the emergence of Zawahari’s video and information gathered from sources, including some foreign agencies, has now confirmed al-Qaeda’s plan to carry out suicide bombings within the country.

Highly-placed intelligence sources said that it has now been confirmed that al-Qaeda wants to use the network of Indian Mujahideen (IM) and the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) to recruit cadre for forming “fidayeen squads”.

Sources added, that there is “concrete information” to suggest, the Kashmir Valley could be the first target for al-Qaeda’s lethal plans as they intend to conduct suicide attacks in the run up to the Assembly election in the Valley that are expected to be held in January 2015.

There is credible information suggesting that the video has come as a shot in the arm for the sleeper network of outfits like the IM and Simi which are planning to re-activate in a big way.