Srinagar, Asharq Al-Awsat- Lashkar-e-Taiba has announced that it was not involved in the recent bombings in Delhi, as the group states that it does not believe in targeting innocent civilians especially women and children. A spokesperson for the group who identified himself as Abu Hanifa told local media organizations that his group did not carry out the attacks, which killed at least 65 people in Delhi, 29 October 2005.
"There are no grounds for the claims made by Delhi police and other security agencies that Lashkar-e-Taiba was responsible for the attacks."
A militant group called ”Islamic Inquilab Mahaz” has stated that it was responsible for the deadly bombings. Indian security agencies have stated that this group emerged in the early 90”s and is an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Experts, however, argue that the main group is seeking to disassociate itself publicly from the bombings because of the widespread condemnation that it received following the attacks.
Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohd are both banned in Pakistan; however, experts believe that they both operate under different names. Jamaat-al-Dawa, an Islamist charity linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba has been active in Pakistani administered Kashmir providing relief to the victims of October”s devastating earthquake. Both militant groups are opposed to the peace process between India and Pakistan.
Hizbul Mujahideen, the single largest militant group operating in the state, and Al-Badr and Al-Mansoorian have also condemned the Delhi attacks, stating that such acts are against the nature of Islam and humanity and aim at maligning the "freedom movement of Kashmir."
Operational commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Ghazi Misbah-ud-Din, in a telephone statement, said that some elements claiming the responsibilities of these acts were using "names of false outfits to malign the real militant groups."
A faxed statement to a local news agency from Al-Badr, said that the group Islamic Inquilab Mahaz that claimed responsibility for the acts has never existed in Kashmir. The outfit further ruled out any involvement of Kashmiri militant groups in the Delhi bombings. Al-Mansoorian further emphasized this point, adding that the attacks that killed innocents, particularly women and children were aimed at harming the militant groups.