Indian airports on alert following warnings

Last Updated: Fri, 5 Dec 2008 17:04:00 +1100

Normal operations have resumed at Delhi International airport after a security scare which appeared to be a false alarm.

Indian TV says two sharp sounds sparked the alert, but police searched the area and found nothing suspicious.

Authorities have put major airports on high alert after a threat of possible action from the previously unknown Deccan Mujahideen that claims responsibility for last week's Mumbai attacks.

The actions cover all major airports - including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.

The alert comes the week after Islamist militants, whom India says were from Pakistan, launched a coordinated attack against India's economic capital Mumbai which left nearly 200 dead.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, which is in overall charge of airport safety, said additional paramilitary troops had been deployed to guard six of the country's busiest international airports.

Meanwhile, Indian officials have issued a revised death toll for the Mumbai massacre, saying it now stands at 172, with 296 people wounded.

They say the latest figures are unlikely to be revised.

Equipment upgrade

Indian security forces are rushing to upgrade their equipment, after being outgunned by the extremists who attacked Mumbai last week.

The gunmen carried global positioning systems and satellite telephones, but in some parts of the city police were armed only with bamboo sticks.

India has been joined by the US in blaming Pakistan-based Islamic militants for training and supplying the attackers.

Footage from Mumbai's main railway terminal show unarmed police ducking in doorways as two gunmen sprayed the station with bullets.

Around 50 of the 172 who were killed in the attacks, died at the terminal.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says India's elite police will receive expanded and upgraded equipment, including GPS devices containing detailed road maps.

Attackers escape: expert

A security expert claims that several men involved in the Mumbai attacks last week may have escaped.

Farhana Ali told a briefing for U.S. government counterterrorism and military officials her sources said there were at least 23 gunmen.

Indian authorities have said 10 gunmen took part in the Mumbai attacks - nine were killed and one captured.

But Farhana Ali says she believes some may be in hiding in India.

The former CIA and Rand Corp counterterrorism analyst and expert on militant networks said her infomation came from Pakistan but she declined to identify the exact source.