FBI worried Al-Qaeda will emulate Mumbai attacks

The FBI has warned building owners in the US and elsewhere to be on the look out for terrorists adopting similar tactics to the Mumbai attackers.

In a statement to the House Committee on Homeland Security, deputy assistant director of counterterrorism, James McJunkin said: ‘The principal lesson from the Mumbai attacks remains that a small number of trained and determined attackers with relatively unsophisticated weapons can do a great deal of damage.’

‘The terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan is another example of a low-tech, but potentially high-impact operation,’ noted McJunkin.

The FBI indicated it had no credible information that terrorists were planning similar operations against public buildings in the US, but urged local authorities and building owners and operators to be on guard for potential attacks.

On November 26, 2008, several men armed with hand grenades, automatic weapons, and satellite phones landed in a rubber raft on the shores of Mumbai. They scattered to soft targets across the city, launched simultaneous attacks that held India’s financial capital under siege for days, and killed more than 170 individuals.

“We are concerned about the possibility that other terrorist groups, including al Qaeda or its affiliates, will take note of these attacks and attempt to emulate them.

FBI deputy assistant director of counterterrorism, James McJunkin

The Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) were found to have trained and directed the attack.

The FBI assessed that LT remains a threat to US interests in South Asia and at home.

‘LT does maintain facilitation, procurement, fundraising, and recruitment activities worldwide, including in the United States,’ McJunkin told the House Committee.

He added: ‘We are concerned about the possibility that other terrorist groups, including al Qaeda or its affiliates, will take note of these attacks and attempt to emulate them.’