Terror struck Hyderabad on Friday, 18 May when a crude RDX bomb exploded in the 400-year-old Mecca mosque during Friday prayers. While 11 people died in the blast, five died in police firing and over 60 people sustained injuries in this incident. The damage was done by one bomb which exploded while two other live bombs were recovered from the spot and defused. The bomb disposal squad, led by U Rammohan Rao, which defused the two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were mystified to note their sophisticated design - while RDX and TNT were used as explosives, the IEDs were actviated by cell phone.

As the security agencies pull the threads of the blast together, the Bangladeshi Taliban-inspired, terrorist outfit Harkatul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI), formed in 1992 on instructions from Osama bin Laden, has emerged as the prime suspect. The group, led by Shawkat Osman, alias Sheikh Farid, operates in close cooperation with the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). Shahed Bilal, a resident of Hyderabad, who assumed command over HuJI on 12 October 2005, is being seen as the mastermind behind the blast. A dreaded terrorist, the plots executed by Bilal include a suicide attack on the Special Task Force's headquarters in Hyderabad, the murder conspiracy of BJP leader N Indrasena Reddy and the Sankat Mochan temple bombing in Varanasi, besides the blasts on the Samjhauta Express. Bilal is an important kingpin in the South Asian terrorist network as he was instrumental in sending youth for arms training to Pakistan through Dhaka and the Gulf states.

Initial investigations reveal that the SIM card in the cell phone attached to these bombs was purchased in Kolkata, and the explosive material, RDX and TNT, were imported from Bangladesh. As happens with every terrorist attack, after the Mecca Masjid blast too, the security agencies claimed that they had a clue that an attack was being planned, but could not get details. The Andhra Police claim that they had alerted the mosque authorities about intelligence inputs on the possibility of a Malegaon-type attack.

Their claim may be true but just as true is the fact that it is very difficult to obtain accurate inputs about terrorist plans. It becomes more difficult when the terror network spreads to newer, unexplored localities, which is what is happening with South India's painful tryst with jihadi terrorism. There is no denying that terrorist organizations have increased their base of operation in the south and are systematically expanding it, but India's security apparatus has failed to take note of these developments.

Since 1993, over 100 ISI agents have been arrested by the Andhra Pradesh police for their involvement in minor and major bomb blasts, killings and communal violence. This includes big names like Mohammed Saleem Junaid, Mohammed Shafiq, and Farooq Ahmed. Large amounts of RDX and other explosives have been seized by the state police. Soon after demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, South India became the focal point of several terrorist groups, who have been working there to ferment communal discontent and destroy the communal harmony and secular fabric of the region. However, it was the December 2005 attack on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore which confirmed that the southern states were increasingly vulnerable to terrorism.

There are two reasons operating and both are equally important in explaining the hidden agenda of terrorist groups which have made their presence felt in southern India. First, a number of defence installations are located in and around Hyderabad, including Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) establishments. By targeting Hyderabad the terrorist groups want to intimidate these Indian establishments. Secondly, the transformation of Hyderabad and Bangalore into IT hubs, have also attracted several terrorist outfits aiming to hamper these emerging centers of economic growth.

As initial enquiries suggest the involvement of international terrorist organizations, the Government of India must order a CBI probe. Everyone must learn from past mistakes. Religious places of worship have increasingly become soft targets for terrorist groups, and the managements of all places of religious worship must accept, rather insist upon, adequate security measures to protect their parishioners. Economic terrorism, jihadi terrorism and red terror are now clubbed together in South India, and the Hyderabad blast reflects a confluence of the same. It is crucial that the local authorities, the governments of the southern states and the Government of India take notice of the increasing vulnerability of the region and take adequate counterterrorist measures.