India is a Persistent Target of Terrorist Attacks: US Report

India is one of the persistently targeted countries by terrorist groups, says US Report on Terrorism.

Representative Image (Photo: iStock)

India is one of the ‘most persistently targeted countries’ by terrorist groups, according to a US State Department report.

India remains one of the most persistently targeted countries by insurgents as well as transnational and domestic terrorist groups, the US State Department Annual Report on Terrorism for the year 2014 said.

Approximately 400 people were killed in India in 2014 and the fatalities from terror attacks remained substantially unchanged compared to the previous year, according to the report.

The report highlights the counter-terrorism measures taken by the Indian government.

“The Government of India deepened counter-terrorism cooperation with the United States, highlighted by a September 30 Summit between President Obama and Prime Minister Modi where both sides pledged greater cooperation in countering terrorist networks and in information sharing”, the report outlined.

Protesters with ISIS flags in Srinagar, Kashmir (Photo: PTI)

The report refers to the threat posed to India by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), even though the Indian government has been closely monitoring this threat.

“Indian officials have emphasized the government takes threats posed by ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) seriously, even though only a small number of Indians are believed to have been recruited into the organization. Given India’s large Muslim population, potential socio-religious marginalization, and active ISIL online propaganda efforts, there remains a risk of increased ISIL recruitment of Indian nationals”, the report said.

The report also emphasises the challenges before the Indian security agencies while referring to India’s counter-terrorism efforts.

“India’s efforts to counter terrorism were hampered by poor interagency coordination and information sharing, however. In addition, local police forces, led at the state level, have limited command and control capacity and suffer from poor training and equipment,” the report outlined.

The report slams the Indian government’s failure to effectively implement the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to curb terror funding.

“The Indian government has yet to implement the legislation effectively, however, especially with regard to criminal convictions. Law enforcement agencies typically open criminal investigations reactively and seldom initiate proactive analysis and long-term investigations” the report said.