India fears Obama visit may trigger separatist attacks

India's senior security official said on Wednesday that an upcoming visit by US President Barack Obama may trigger attacks from militants fighting over the disputed region of Kashmir.

India's senior security official said on Wednesday that an upcoming visit by US President Barack Obama may trigger attacks from militants fighting over the disputed region of Kashmir.

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Home Secretary G K Pillai told the CNN-IBN television station that "from the publicity point of view" Obama's visit to India early next month was an opportunity for violence to have maximum impact.

"The militants would like to see if they can have any spectacular incident which they could then get worldwide attention on," Pillai said, adding that no specific intelligence had been received about any threat.

During then-US president Bill Clinton's visit to India in 2000, Islamic militants dressed in Indian uniforms killed 35 Sikhs in a massacre in Kashmir.
Obama's itinerary has not been announced but he is set to start his trip in Mumbai, where 10 Islamic gunmen killed 166 people during a 60-hour siege in 2008.

India and Pakistan each hold part of Kashmir but claim it in full.

The Himalayan region, which has triggered two wars between the rival nations, has been wracked by an insurgency against Indian rule since 1989.