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India on alert for plane hijack terror plot
22 Jan 2010Indian airports were on high alert today after intelligence services received information that al Qaeda-linked militants were plotting to hijack a plane.
Officials also linked the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group to the hijacking of an Air India or Indian Airlines flight destined for a neighbouring south Asian country.
Home ministry official UK Bansal said security was tightened at all airports and passengers were being subjected to more intense security screenings. The ministry also said sky marshals would be deployed on some flights.
Indian media said the hijack threat was uncovered during the interrogation of Amjad Khwaja, a militant leader belonging to extremist group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, which has been involved in terror attacks in India. Khwaja was arrested in Chennai last week and was questioned by Indian police.
The American Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, has praised India for its restraint after the Mumbai terror attack in 2008, but expressed concern that the government would have a hard time reacting so cautiously if it were hit again.
