Last week saw the unfolding of atrocious acts of terrorism in two different countries, thousands of kilometres apart. Yet, the similarities and differences were surprisingly congruent. An attack on the makeshift Ram Mandir in Ayodhya left five terrorists dead and wounded three security force personnel, while the London's bomb blasts left at least 52 people dead and more than 600 injured. If anything, today's 'war on terror' has reinforced Al Qaeda's resolution to wage 'war' on the United States and its allies. The apprehensiveness and caution with which the international community deals with Al Qaeda is a reminder as to how deep and extensive the organization's linkages are.

While investigations into both attacks continue, initial findings are leading authorities to believe that the Ayodhya attack might have been carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). One of the slain militants, 'Mobeen', has been identified as a LeT operative. Although investigators in London are still sifting through the carnage left behind after the bombings, law enforcement agencies have been led to believe that local British-born Pakistani recruits of the Al Qaeda organization or a resultant splinter group are accountable for the attacks. It may be too early and ambitious to speculate as to who is responsible for these acts of terrorism. However, if initial findings prove conclusive, the future implications for India, UK and the virtuous 'coalition of the willing,' could be detrimental. The possibility of the London bombings being an indigenous suicide attack throws open a Pandora's Box in the war against terrorism. The bombings, the first suicide attacks on European soil, would undoubtedly be a stern test of British society's cohesiveness in the coming days. More importantly, the nature of the attacks suggests that an enemy from within Britain's borders, justifying suicide attacks under the banner of religious faith, has ushered in a new security threat.

Lashkar-e-Toiba, also known as the 'Army of the Pure' and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, is an Islamic fundamentalist organization of the Wahabi sect in Pakistan. It is considered to be a tool of the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) agency, which relies on the group's orthodox Islamic stance as an instrument to perpetrate acts of violence against minorities and security forces. While the group has been primarily operating in Jammu & Kashmir; its agenda is by no means restricted to only challenging India's sovereignty over J&K. The organization's ideology is outlined in a document titled 'Why are we waging jihad', which categorically states the groups' ambition to restore Islamic rule over all parts of India and to form a union of Muslim majority countries, in the region surrounding Pakistan.

Prior to the attack at Ayodhya, the LeT had been held responsible for numerous attacks across J&K and it is believed that its cadre had a part to play in the Indian Parliament attacks on December 13, 2001, striking at the heart of India's democratic establishment. An interesting aspect of the LeT's doctrine, is the mention of the organizations unequivocal support for Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Lashkar-e-Toiba's extended international alliance has enabled it to obtain financial, moral and logistical support for its operations in the Kashmir Valley and beyond. The close ties also pose a threat to regional peace and stability, with its leaders denouncing democracy, describing it as a "...menace we inherited from an alien government". While the groups' links to Al Qaeda poses an obvious, if not immediate threat, it is the LeT's broader aim of Islamic rule over the subcontinent which is likely to pose a bigger challenge. Attacks such as the one on Parliament and at Ayodhya, which bear LeT credentials, mark the groups' intentions to wage terrorism beyond Kashmir and to instigate communal violence within India. This may subsequently destabilize India-Pakistan relations.

Police authorities in London are almost certain that the bombings were carried out by British-born terrorists, who had received intensive training at Al Qaeda camps. Reports from Britain's intelligence agency, MI5, suggest that there may be as many as 16,000 potential terrorists and Osama bin Laden supporters in the UK. While this figure is a mere one per cent of Britain's Muslim population, it is the notion of a growing international nexus of Al Qaeda operatives, sleeper cells, and affiliated groups which poses a greater threat potential. What British security and intelligence officials had feared since 9/11 became evidently clear on July 7, 2005, when the blasts ripped through the morning rush hour. Britain's 'soft' immigration polices and asylum laws are attributed as reasons for making 'Londonistan' a safe haven for potential terrorists. While the terrorist attacks may not lead to a change in British immigration policies, it will surely create a stir amongst its allies, who would have realized the threat posed by according free and safe passage to British citizens.