While the attack on the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bangalore, India may not have registered major headlines in the Western press, it deserves serious attention by both US and Indian security services and policy makers. Specifically, this attack may represent the opening salvo in campaign against US and Indian technology economic interests.
There have been previous attempts by militant groups to attack economic targets in Bangalore. Specifically, in the spring of 2005, Indian security services warned that militant groups were intent on attacking technology companies in Bangalore. The government obtained evidence of a plot after the police arrested a member of the Laskhar-e-Toiba , a Kashmiri separatist group. As a result of this previous effort to attack IT companies in Bangalore, it is reasonable to suspect that there is a concerted effort by militant groups to attack economic targets in India.
To see this local effort against IT companies in Bangalore in the context of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), it is instructive to review al-Qaeda?s guiding strategy. Al-Qaeda has stated previously that it is intent on both attacking soft economic interests and driving a wedge between the US and its allies in the GWOT. Evidence of al-Qaeda?s targeting of soft economic targets includes the October 2002 Bali attack that appeared designed to disrupt Indonesia tourism industry. Moreover, al-Qaeda made clear in written documents, such as ?Jihadi Iraqi: Hopes and Dangers,? that it intends on isolating the United States from its allies in the GWOT.
The attack against soft economic targets in Bangalore may allow radical militants to draw closer to achieving both of these stated goals. It is possible that the militants believe attacking IT companies in Bangalore will discourage US technology companies from continuing to invest in India, thereby weakening both countries economies. As a result, US and Indian security services should focus their attention on detecting and deterring future attacks through solid intelligence gathering and increased defenses.