New Delhi: Increased use of the Internet, change of tactics like attacking crowded places, recruitment of educated youths, and coordinated activities by several terror groups in the Indian sub-continent pose serious challenge to the country`s security.
A new book, which profiles in detail 39 such groups in the region -- ranging from ISI-backed terror outfits to regional ones and Left-wing extremists, says many of them have started coordinating their activities, including sharing arms supplies and transferring funds.
The pattern of terror strikes in India and elsewhere has also shifted from isolated attacks to bombings of crowded places or public transport systems to spread panic among the people, says the book `Militant Groups in South Asia`, brought out by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).
It also points out that the decades-long international efforts in the region in the name of `war against terror`, have not only failed to contain the menace of terrorism but aggravated the regional security situation.
Analysing the changing pattern of terror and militancy in the South Asian region, the authors -- noted security expert Surinder K Sharma and researcher Anshuman Behera -- say these groups "pose a critical challenge to the (Indian) state when they come together and coordinate their activities. These groups often come together to fight a common enemy".
The book not only profiles major militant groups operating in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries, but also provides information on their prevailing status, sources of finance and weapons and other capabilities. It also gives an assessment of what these groups could be capable of doing in the near future.
The organisations include Indian Mujahideen, Hizbul Mujahedeen, Al Ummah, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland in India to Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jundullah and the Haqqani network in Pakistan, besides al Qaeda and the United Jihad Council.
