Terrorism!!!

Even a government that often appears to have its eyes glued shut could not have failed to read the message delivered by the Assam serial bombings: that great dangers lie ahead for a nation facing a sustained terror offensive of unprecedented lethality. It is too early to come to any firm opinion on which group carried out Thursday’s attack. At this point, many experts suspect the hand of the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami — a feared jihadist group that has carried out dozens of bombings in India and Bangladesh. HUJI clearly hopes to exploit the communal situation in Assam, which recently saw brutal clashes between Muslims and Bodo adivasis. Investigators believe HUJI was responsible for last month’s bombing in Agartala — the first-ever jihadist attack in Tripura. Four HUJI operatives were killed in a recent encounter along the India-Bangladesh border at Dhurbi and several HUJI members are known to have crossed the border. Assam authorities believe the Islamist group would not be able to mount an operation of this scale without logistical support from the United Liberation Front of Asom. ULFA has denied any role in the bombings but its past record of collaboration with Bangladesh-based Islamist groups lends some weight to the suspicion.