Manmohan warns of intensified terror attacks

PM Manmohan said intelligence agencies have warned of intensified terrorist violence with increased focus on soft targets.

Noting that no one can say they are fully immune from terror attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said intelligence agencies have warned of intensified terrorist violence with increased focus on soft targets.

At a Chief Ministers’ conference on internal security, he also asked the states to establish specialised, dedicated forces to ‘cripple’ Left wing extremism which he said continued to be the ‘single biggest security challenge confronting the country’.

“While Left-wing extremism may be restricted in its scope to some regions, the larger problem of terrorism affects all states equally. Terror attacks may have happened so far only in some locations. But the reach of terrorists is such that no one can say that they are fully immune from such attacks,” Singh said.

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The Prime Minister said “intelligence agencies warn of further intensification of violent activities by terror groups.

“While the actual perpetrators of terrorist violence may belong to a few known organisations, we need to guard against their attempts to recruit local sympathy and support”, he said.

Referring to high-profile terror attacks this year in Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, he said the terrorists were able to network across states and even international boundaries organising coordinated strikes.