UTTAR PRADESH: NEW TERRORIST HUB

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000156 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA, DS/DSS/ITA, AND S/CT/ALLAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2018 TAGS: PTER ASEC PGOV CASC PREL KISL KCRM IN SUBJECT: UTTAR PRADESH: NEW TERRORIST HUB REF: A. NEW DELHI 0030 ¶B. 07 NEW DELHI 5158 NEW DELHI 00000156 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POLCOUNS Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B and D) ¶1. (C) Summary: In the last eight weeks, terrorists struck twice in Uttar Pradesh (UP) killing twenty-one people: seven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officers and fourteen civilians (reftels). Analysts as well as Embassy contacts fear that jihadi terrorists who have traditionally focused the bulk ofQir activity on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) may be widening their focus to UP with the help of a small section of local Indian Muslims. This is a new and deeply worrisome trend for India's most populous state, which borders Delhi. There are now established terrorist nodes within 75 miles of this Embassy. End Summary. Homegrown HuJI with Local Support -------------- ¶2. (C) Embassy contacts in UP are concerned that an Indian branch of Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) may be responsible for both the November courthouse bombings in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad (Ref B) and the New Year's Day raid on the CRPF base in Rampur (Ref A). Authorities claim to have arrested five suspected HuJI men in connection with the courthouse bombings. Rampur: First Strike in Western UP -------------- ¶3. (C) As a UP Police officer noted in the press, "So far, all major terror attacks have taken place in different cities of eastern UP. Western UP had remained the area where they took shelter and carried out indoctrination." The Indian Express reports that Rampur's neighboring Amroha and Moradabad districts (75 miles from Delhi) are considered to be "the hideouts of terrorists." ¶4. (C) According to a CRPF officer, five battalions are headquartered in Rampur, three of which are deployed in Kashmir. The Kashmir connection may have provided the excuse for the terrorists to target the base. The CRPF base also houses one of the two Central Weapons Stores of the CRPF. It provides arms and ammunition to the force throughout India. Initial investigations suggest that after attacking a control room and check post, the terrorists proceeded to the weapons depot but were repulsed when CRPF members fired on them. The media have not reported any accounts in which the terrorists �00A;escaped with stolen weapons nor have Embassy contacts suggested this. ¶5. (C) An Embassy journalist contact told POLOFF the focus on killing officers as opposed to securing more weapons suggests a Muslim extremist attack as opposed to a Naxalite assault. According to the contact, the CRPF has increased its policing efforts throughout UP in recent weeks and the terrorists, "wanted to make a point." The journalist, as well as an Embassy political contact, relayed that the CRPF officers had been drinking heavily at a New Year's party that night, which helps explain their delayed response. The guards protecting the armory side of the base were sober, according to the journalist. Terrorists Exploit Conservative Islam for Cover -------------- -- ¶6. (C) Moderate and tolerant Sufi and Barelvi Islam has dominated the eastern UP districts of Gonda, Bahraich, Shravasti, Basti, Siddarth Nagar, Mau, and Azamgarh for centuries. Now the conservative Deobandi and Ahle Hadith schools of Islam appear to be making inroads in these areas, possibly creating a small pool of potential jihadi sympathizers to facilitate terrorist operations in UP. The recent Alami Ijtema in Azamgarh - an international gathering of several hundred thousand Muslims sponsored by the revivalist and Wahabi Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) - helped spread the conservative views espoused by the TJ at the expense of the region's traditional Sufi and Barelvi Islam. A large NEW DELHI 00000156 002.2 OF 002 increase in the number of conservative Deobandi and Ahle Hadith madrassas in the region could benefit extremist groups seeking to recruit Indian Muslims and attack targets in UP and elsewhere in India outside of J&K. ¶7. (C) The sentiment among informed sources, including journalists, politicians, bureaucrats and law enforcement officials suggests that Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and HuJI are utilizing existing Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) infrastructure in UP. An unnamed intelligence analyst recently told The Hindu, "One (LeT) objective is to provide infrastructure and support for the Islamist terror groups springing up elsewhere in India." State and Center Governments at a Loss -------------- ¶8. (C) A former CRPF Commandant who served in Kashmir described CRPF authorities in Rampur as "guilty of being lax." A general complaint exists within UP state administrative circles that central government agencies, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, have not extended the coordination required to cope with the new realities of terrorism in UP. ¶9. (C) Early reports of the Rampur attack speculated that CRPF officers recruited from J&K could have aided the attackers. The CRPF disputed these claims, but more recent reports indicate that two CRPF officers are to be suspended. Whether the suspension stems from suspicion of an inside job or simply for lax security remains unclear. UP Likely to be Hit Again -------------- ¶10. (C) Comment: In the two weeks since the Rampur attack, authorities do not appear to be close to cracking the case. Perhaps this represents further evidence of the depth of roots terrorist organizations have established in UP, made easier with what some observers consider to be the creeping influence of intolerant Wahabi Islam. With assembly elections in J&K later this year, the focus of violence may shift away from UP. For now however, UP as well as Delhi law enforcement remain on high alert, particularly with the upcoming Republic Day ceremonies. End Comment. MULFORD