Suspected terrorist plot foiled in India

Oct 13, 2011, 8:11 GMT

New Delhi - Police foiled a suspected terrorist plot to carry out a bomb attack in the Indian capital when they found explosives and detonators in a car in the north of the country, officials said Thursday.

The explosives were discovered in a car parked outside the railway station in Ambala town in the northern state of Haryana, about 217 kilometres north of New Delhi.

'Five kilograms of explosives, divided into three parts and wrapped in brown adhesive tape, five detonators and two timers in a plastic box were hidden in the car,' Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police Arun Kampani said.

The explosives were found late Wednesday when police in the capital alerted their Haryana counterparts after a tip-off.

Kampani said the explosives were taken into Haryana by the Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was active in India-administered Kashmir, and were meant to be used in Delhi.

The explosives and the car have been sent for examination, and the area around Ambala railway station cordoned off.

Cities and towns across India, especially the national capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai, have been repeated targets of bombings.

Three bombs ripped through crowded markets in Mumbai on July 13, killing 26 people, and 13 people were killed in another blast outside the High Court in New Delhi on September 7.