Narayanan issues terror warning to West, Gulf states

This is the first time in recent years that New Delhi has used its intelligence inputs to caution other countries, reports Aloke Tikku.

National Security Adviser MK Narayanan has asked Western and Gulf Arab states to prepare for a new wave of terrorist attacks on vulnerable economic targets and high-profile politicians.

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Narayanan’s advice, based on Indian intelligence, came at a regional security conference in Bahrain, reports coming out of the kingdom said.

The NSA told the meeting that key leaders and economic infrastructure like oil pipelines, storage depots and ocean-going tankers were at heightened risk from groups like Al Qaeda.

New Al Qaeda training schools had come up along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, from where a whole new generation of super-tough and committed terrorists were coming out, the NSA said. Indian intelligence had identified recruits from at least 14 countries at the schools, Narayanan said.

This is the first time in recent years that New Delhi has used its intelligence inputs to caution other countries, especially the Gulf Arab countries, at a public forum. A top official said Narayanan appeared to be sending an unambiguous message to governments in the region that they too were within striking range of the terrorists’ “asymmetric war techniques”.

Indian intelligence has long identified Gulf establishments as major source of terrorist funding.