Washington, Sep 15: The US today slapped sanctions on India-based group Indian Mujahideen (IM) by designating it as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and said it has significant links with Pakistan-based groups like the LeT.
 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slapped sanctions on the organisation.
 The State Department said IM maintains close ties to other US- designated terrorist entities including Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HuJI).
 "IM's stated goal is to carry out terrorist actions against non-Muslims in furtherance of its ultimate objective – an Islamic Caliphate across South Asia," it said.
 IM is responsible for dozens of bomb attacks throughout India since 2005, and has caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians.
 "These designations highlight the threat posed by IM not only to Western interests, but to India, a close US partner. The Indian populace has borne the brunt of IM's wanton violence and today's actions illustrate our solidarity with the Indian Government," stated Daniel Benjamin, the Department of State's Coordinator for Counter terrorism.
 These designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to abandon terrorism.
 The State Department said, IM's primary method of attack is multiple coordinated bombings in crowded areas against economic and civilian targets to maximise terror and casualties.
 "The consequences of these designations include a prohibition against knowingly providing material support or resources to, or engaging in other transactions with, the Indian Mujahideen, and the freezing of all property and interests in property of the organisation that are in the United States, or come within the United States, or the control of US persons," State Department said.
 "Despite New Delhi's reluctance to openly acknowledge the fact, India also has its own indigenous Islamist terrorism threat.
 "The newly emergent IM group, widely believed to be an offshoot or pseudonym of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), has been found complicit in a number of recent bombings, even as government leaders continue to name Pakistan as an abettor of such episodes," the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report on India.

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