THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, March 21, (AFP) - India tightened security at three major airports in the southern state of Kerala after a call threatening attacks by Tamil Tiger sympathizers, police said today.
Extra security measures were in place at the international airports of Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode following the threat, the director general of police told AFP.
“We are keeping high alert on the airports and surrounding areas since yesterday,” Jacob Punnoose said.
The Central Intelligence Bureau, India's main spy agency, received an anonymous call Thursday saying that sympathisers of Sri Lankan separatist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were planning bomb attacks at one of the facilities.
Police have restricted the entry of vehicles and deployed more personnel and bomb squads in the affected areas, Punnoose said
They have also stepped up baggage screening and restricted visitor access, he added.
Kerala, on the southern tip of India, borders the state of Tamil Nadu, whose 55 million Tamils share close cultural and religious links with Sri Lanka's Tamils. |
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